The Count of Tuscany
by withany
Summary: "She gets kidnapped, he gets killed, but..." This was the Princess Bride plot, not necessarily mine. If you're expecting vitamin C from this, sorry, you'll get scurvy. However, there may be gore. I hope.
1. Chapter 1

**The Count of Tuscany**

**Chapter 1**

This story is for my kid sister, H4, because she's not bad as kid sisters go.

Sometimes I get insomnia and lying there I become very bored. What else can you do but plot, without waking everyone else up?

I'd heard the song "The Count of Tuscany" and thought its theme sounded a bit Twi-ish, though I'm sure that if Dream Theater knew, they'd be as pleased as Muse aren't. When I'd plotted I mentioned it to H4 & she asked me to write it. So I am. It's all her responsibility.

It was after I did the first chapter that I realized it paralleled the Princess Bride tagline: "She gets kidnapped, he gets killed, but it all works out right in the end." Maybe that's where the similarity ends.

This chapter's also not beta'ed by Irritable Grizzzly; she took me under her wing afterwards, so all the mistakes are mine.

**88888888888**

"On days like these I wonder what became of you. Maybe today you're singing songs with someone new. I'd like to think you're walking by those willow trees remembering the love we knew on days like these.

It's on days like these that I remember singing songs and drinking wine while your eyes played games with mine." _Theme to" The Italian Job" sung by Matt Munro_

**8888888888888**

The first time Edward noticed that Carlisle had the photograph in his study, he'd snarled; momentarily frozen and staring at it. Then he'd glared at Carlisle, spun on his heel and abruptly walked out.

The picture was the last group photograph the family had taken before Bella's eighteenth birthday party. Alice had forecast that it would be the last hot day before the end of the summer. The opportunity for a day in the outdoors was too good to miss.

Packing up a picnic for Bella, and all clad in swimming gear under their shorts and tees, the Cullens headed into the national park, stopping at an isolated lake that Alice confirmed would be avoided by humans for most of the day. There they spread out blankets and towels along the narrow ribbon of sand at the shore and for a while basked in the sun, enjoying the heat that warmed even the Cullens' bodies. They resembled a row of Swarovski figurines, throwing rainbows across the surrounding trees and rocks, and across Bella's pale skin. The temperature had climbed well into the eighties by noon, before the day began to cloud over, reducing further the slight risk of alarming any lost hikers passing their way.

Alice and Jasper had started the game. Rosalie and Emmett watched lazily; Edward, propped against a rock with his arms around Bella, nudged her with his chin. She looked across to the water where Alice stood facing out toward the centre of the lake.

With Jasper bending before her, Alice daintily lifted her foot into his clasped hands, at the same time raising her arms into a diving pose above her head. Jasper straightened suddenly, heaving his arms up and catapulting Alice high into the air. As she rose, she arched her back, toes pointed, spreading her arms wide in a balletic bird pose. As she arced towards the water she twisted, somersaulted and pirouetted before cutting neatly into the middle of the lake. Within seconds she was back to the shore.

"Six point zero!" called Emmett as Alice surfaced, acknowledging him with a prim smile.

Bella had watched round-eyed, still occasionally surprised by the vampires' abilities when they did not have to maintain their human façade, "Wow!" was all she could say.

In her turn, Alice bent in front of Jasper, clasping her hands, hurling him equally high into the air.

Emmett, of course, could not resist the challenge. He and Jasper began to compete, trying to outdo one another in the numbers of turns, twists and somersaults they could manage before hitting the water. They repeatedly called on Edward to join them, but he laughed, saying that he was more than happy where he was. When Carlisle outdid the pair of them, aided by Esme, who turned to wink at Bella, Emmett waded back to the beach.

"Want a go, little sis' ?" he held his hand out to Bella.

Bella looked up at him, uncertainty on her face, as Edward turned to look at Alice, who nodded. Rosalie pulled her (unnecessary) sunglasses down her nose to look across to him, "Em, leave it out; if she breaks her neck you know Edward will sulk all day."

To Bella's surprise, Edward laughed, "Well, for an hour, at least." She elbowed him as she stood up, "Let's go, Emmett."

Wading a couple of yards into the water, Emmett bent forward. Bella steadied herself with her hands on his shoulders while she carefully fitted her foot into his hands. He looked down into her eyes, "Just a short distance this first time, okay? Just dive straight in. The water's deep enough here. I'll count to three."

Bella nodded, taking a deep breath.

On three, Emmett gently launched her into the air over his shoulder. She rose in a smooth arc to about fifteen feet, stretching her arms into an elegant dive, cutting cleanly into the water. As she surfaced she whooped in glee, "Emmett, that was fantastic!". She swam back to shore, giggling as she stood, "Again, please!"

Emmett laughed. Edward leaned back against his rock, arms behind his head, grinning.

"Aren't you going to join us, Edward?" Bella asked, looking over her shoulder as she again lifted her foot.

"Not likely," he responded, "The view is so much better from this vantage point."

Bella pretended she needed to adjust her balance, wiggling her shoulders and hips. Edward let out a low growl of appreciation, "Tease."

She laughed, nodding at Emmett who began to count again.

For nearly half an hour Bella made dive after dive, Emmett carefully increasing the height of each. Finally, she began to tire. On her last dive, as Emmett threw her into the air, her foot slipped in his grasp. Her trajectory, instead of being towards the middle of the lake, was towards a large moraine boulder in the shallows. Emmett realised instantly what was going wrong and began to turn. Bella opened her mouth to scream as she saw the boulder rushing toward her.

Faster than either, Edward saw the picture in Alice's mind, simultaneous with Emmett's realisation. His head snapped up, eyes judging distance, velocity and angles. Before anyone else could move, he leapt high into the air, corkscrewing round as he encircled Bella with his arms; one at her waist, the other around the back of her head to gently hold her cheek against his shoulder. Still spinning, their path curved round to deeper water. Just before they hit the surface, Edward moved under her, throwing her upwards so that he crashed down into the depths, while she barely submerged. Almost instantly Edward resurfaced, supporting Bella as she spluttered lake water, "Exciting enough for you?"

Bella blew a lock of hair away from her mouth, "My hero," she croaked. He grinned at her, planting a quick kiss on her forehead. Then he slung her across his back and swam to the shore. Emmett was waiting, "Sorry, Bella." _Sorry Edward._

It was a few minutes later that Carlisle set the camera timer before joining the line-up.

The men stood in a line, thigh-deep in the water, with the girls standing on their shoulders, arms around each other. Emmett commented that they looked like an anaemic circus troupe. Bella's lightly-freckled, sun blushed skin stood out pink against the Cullens' pearlescent pallor.

Rosalie and Esme, on either side of Bella, faced steadily towards the camera, smiling widely; Alice placed a foot on Jasper's head, a large drop of water ready to drip from her big toe onto the end of his nose.

Bella began to wobble just before the shutter released. The image caught her looking down at Edward, smiling and flushed, his right arm snaked around her lower leg, holding her steady just below the knee. He was looking up, expression caught mid-laugh, his eyes meeting hers. Carlisle had never seen him looking so happy.

….~~~~~….

In Edward's eyes, the photograph mocked him with lost love, failure and days that would never come again. To Carlisle, for many months it had shown love, family and hope for the future. No more. Now, it mocked him with his own failures: failure to protect those in his care, failure to properly guide Edward in an existence that he had had forced upon him, failure to keep his family together. It was high summer again, would soon be a year since they had severed Bella from their lives; she was gone and now Edward was gone, and the family was fragmented.

...

After leaving Bella in the forest, Edward had run all the way to their rendezvous in Denali. Esme had been frantic with worry about how he would react to the separation. On arrival he studied her anxious face, enveloped her in a bear-hug and smiled down at her.

For two months, Edward had smiled. He'd been lovingly cheerful, assiduously helpful during their subsequent move to Chicago, laughed at everyone's jokes and smiled, smiled, smiled. He never brought up the subject of Forks, nor Bella, but if either happened to be mentioned, he would smile and express a hope that all was well there. At his insistence Alice had, metaphorically, put her fingers in her ears and hummed loudly so as not to think of Bella, nor follow her future.

Every night he left the house; running, Alice said. He couldn't be still. He returned at dawn, smiling.

Esme relaxed, beginning to believe her hope that Edward could move on. Rosalie and Emmett relaxed; Carlisle grew worried. Edward cracked jokes and smiled. While Edward smiled, Jasper grew silent and drawn. Emmett later said that it was like living the story of Dorian Gray. The more cheerful Edward became, the more frayed Jasper looked. Carlisle began to notice him open his mouth as though to speak, only to close it again on receiving a slight head-shake from Edward.

Esme never found out that Edward burned most of his clothes. The only used set he kept were those he wore on his last meeting with Bella. These he vacuum sealed and stored. She didn't see the pulverised stone in the disused quarry high in the mountains. She didn't see it coming – the morning Edward walked back in following his nightly run, an hour after Carlisle left for work. He stood in the hallway, melting sleet dripping from his hair and clothes. His voice was flat, "I can't do this any more." Alice stood with her hands over her mouth, Jasper's arms tight around her shoulders.

Edward crossed to the hall table, took out a set of car keys and dropped them in Rosalie's palm. A look of annoyance crossed her face, "Edward, what do I want with the Volv…." She stopped, seeing the Aston Martin branding, and realisation began to dawn "No!" she cried.

Edward had no more smiles left in him. He looked across at Jasper. " I just can't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Please tell Carlisle, I …" He stopped, shook his head, and looked across to Alice, "Don't look for me. I'll call. I promise, I'll call," and he was gone.

…~~~~~~~~~~~….

Carlisle was in his new office at Rochester General, still gazing at the photograph when the phone rang.

"Carlisle Masen", he responded, "Can I help you?"

There was a brief silence, followed by the shuffling sound of papers, and then a voice that Carlisle instantly recognised asked gruffly, "Is that Carlisle Cullen?"

A dozen thoughts tumbled through Carlisle's mind. It should not have been possible for Charlie Swan to track him down, not without a great deal of effort, resource and decent amount of luck. The family were adept at changing identities and covering their tracks. Carlisle felt suddenly afraid. The mere fact that Charlie was on the other end of the line meant that he'd had reason to expend the effort, to be determined. There was only one reason why he would ever do so. Bella.

Carlisle closed his eyes. No point in pretending, "Chief," he said flatly, "what's wrong?"

Charlie gave a humourless snort, "I appreciate the plain speaking," he responded, "This isn't a casual call. I need to speak to that boy of yours."

Definitely Bella, then. The pain that had been a permanent resident in Carlisle's heart these last months made the words difficult to say, "That's not possible, Charlie. I presume this is about Bella?"

Silence again.

"How has she been?"

"I must talk to him."

"Is she all right?"

"Bella's missing."

Carlisle sat up straight. A leaden dread settled in his stomach.

"Six weeks ago. And she's not the first. Now, I'm not saying that your boy had anything to do with it, but I need to speak to him, make sure. He might know something, have some idea…"

Carlisle tried to speak calmly, "Charlie, I'm sorry, but you can't speak to my son." He drew in a breath over the Chief's attempt to interrupt, "Edward was killed in Italy six months ago."


	2. Chapter 2

**The Count of Tuscany**

**Chapter 2 – Ruled by Secrecy**

**Beta'ed by H4 and Irritable Grizzzly **(Some say she captains a velociraptor mud-wrestling team)

Disclaimer: All original Twilight characters and events belong to Stephenie Meyer. Everything else is the product of my insomnia.

…**..{}…..**

**December (six months earlier)**

_I could go back_

Edward crouched on the lowest branch of an ash tree in a Boston suburb. The garden in which the tree stood would be beautiful on warm summer evenings: fine grass, neatly-trimmed borders, and a perfect balance of shrubs. That wasn't the case tonight. It was more like a battleground of gusting winds roaring like an express train from the Pole, the rain pelting down at odd angles.

He couldn't recall being dry since he'd left his family three weeks ago. Not that it mattered; it was simply tedious and made the mundane issues of the world that much trickier. Soaked and mud-spattered clothing drew attention in public; ruined shoes inspired no confidence; iPhones didn't work well with wet fingers.

Looking through the rear windows of the nearby house, he'd spent the evening apathetically watching the family sitting around the table for their evening meal, and the parents' vain attempt to drag information out of their teenagers about their day. Then idle gossip over coffee and table-clearing.

There was nothing special about this particular family; this was merely where he'd come to a stop, just as he'd done the twenty preceding days. The house was dressed for Christmas, inside and out. Along the edge of the roof, colored lights swayed with each gust. From his perch Edward could see the flat-screen TV. He'd gazed mindlessly at the shows throughout the evening until a baseball game came on. This reminded him too much of Charlie, and therefore… he allowed his thoughts to linger over her name, and then sighed, lowering his forehead onto his knees and curling his body over the perennial ache in his chest.

_You can't go back. You promised. Nothing's changed._

Thunder crashed. With a yowl, a cat shot halfway across the lawn toward him, then suddenly skidded to a halt, all straight-legged, bristling wet fur and horrified eyes as it realized what it approached. Then it turned tail and dashed back the way it came. Although Edward's memories of his human life were hazy, he was sure that he'd been fond of pets and that they'd trusted him. The cat would have rubbed up against him, purring all the while, and not fled in terror from the demon in its garden. When he stopped to think about it, this rejection by every living thing… every living thing bar one, he corrected himself… was one of the bleakest aspects of his existence.

His thoughts continued along a well-worn track. _"And what if you're right?"_ they whispered to him. _"What if nothing has changed? What if she still wants you?"_

"No!" he whispered out loud. "It doesn't matter. It's not safe. She's human. They forget; she'll forget."

_"Maybe she has,"_ the persistent niggle continued, as it had over and over for nearly three months, _"What if __**Newton**__"_ it sneered, "_stepped in to comfort her? You want her with him? That your great plan? Think he'll be holding back?"_

Betrayed for the thousandth time by his own imaginings, he ground his teeth. Every time he thought of Bella with _him, _and recalled Newton's fantasies and daydreams: the lustful thoughts, the mental tracing of her figure, the internal speculation about her - her - undergarments - and how she would look without them… Edward shuddered, jealousy running hot acid through him. Newton wasn't the only one. Crowley, Yorkie, that guy down at the drugstore, the assistant manager at the Thriftway, the over-attentive clerk at the bookshop in Port Angeles. The list went on.

His phone buzzed, and he pulled the Ziploc bag out from his jacket and peered through it. Alice had texted, _"Stop moping and get under cover. Carlisle will call in two."_

He straightened, and then stepped down from the branch. Just as he'd found shelter under a gazebo a couple of houses down, his phone rang. As always, he felt mixed emotions whenever he heard Carlisle's voice. On the one hand, it soothed him, connecting him, and breaking the fixed loop of his thoughts with the knowledge that he was cherished. On the other hand, he felt guilty about leaving, and that his absence was causing distress, however well Carlisle tried to hide it.

Carlisle never hurried these calls. He would ask little, other than for honest assurance that Edward was all right and had hunted, and then would give an account of how his family had been spending their time. Edward found himself hanging onto every detail, wanting to know all aspects of their lives, even though he didn't feel he could return yet.

Finally, Carlisle cleared his throat. This was a wholly human trait that had become somewhat of a habit when he was trying to introduce an awkward subject. "Edward, you and I have to take a trip abroad." He sounded unhappy.

Edward blinked. This was unexpected. During every call he'd been promised that there would be no pressure to face his family; moreover, it had been many years since Carlisle had left the US mainland. Something was up. "What is it, dad?"

In the background Edward heard keys tapping. "You've been summoned to Volterra," Carlisle mumbled, clearly holding the receiver under his chin. "I'm forwarding the email to you now."

Edward read the message in silence.

_From Aro at Volterra . com_

_To CCullen 1640 at aol . com_

_Esteemed friend_

_We are saddened how swiftly the decades have fallen without the pleasure of welcoming our brother once again to our Courts. _

_News reaches us that your venture in the new world continues successfully, and that you now have a mate and a growing coven; however, you have not honored us by bringing them into our acquaintance._

_We fear that the years separating us, and the divisions of the continents, may have weakened the ties that formerly bound us in brotherhood. We are concerned there is an estrangement, and perhaps a waning of affection, that could bring about exposure of our race, thus leading to a perilous conclusion. _

_Those whom we regard as our children must be guided and given fair counsel, particularly in the retention of our superiority and security as chosen masters of this world. Where our province extends, it is our responsibility to evaluate the consequences of their actions, and to both protect and educate those under our jurisdiction._

_We cordially invite Edward to visit our halls so that we might once again strengthen the connections between our families._ We have been bestowed with certain gifts that enhance our species_; it behooves those Fortunates to serve our kind as their talents dictate. As a quid pro quo, their lesser foibles merit understanding and tolerance. We are mindful that his actions have been largely balanced by discretion; Edward may feel assured his pet will not be harmed by the Volturi, or our Court._

_We have arranged for our representatives to provide an honor escort from Boston Logan at 17.30._

_We remain, _

_Aro, Conte di Toscana_

_Pet, _thought Edward, sourly,' _that's the limit of their understanding._

The extent to which others of his kind dismissed his feelings for Bella left him reeling. It was one sacred rule amongst vampires that needed no external enforcement because it was hard-wired into each and every one of them: once they had found _the one_, nothing could come between a mated pair, and none would ever try. Infidelity was the one human trait that vampires found most puzzling and distasteful.

Only a few had heard about James's pursuit of Bella, the Cullens' defense of her, and subsequent disposal of him, but there were those who found it difficult to reconcile that Edward's feelings ran as strongly as theirs for their own mates. Had James threatened a vampire mate of Edward's, the family's actions would have been lauded as logical and necessary to correct an outrage; since Bella was merely a human, to leave James's mate bereft and alone for eternity was the epitome of overreaction.

_"_They don't allow for a refusal," Edward commented. He read the email again to glean more information from it. "Why are you going? They specifically asked for me."

Carlisle sighed, another human mannerism. "I don't feel right about this. Aro won't like it; he's less than tolerant if people don't do precisely what he wants, but I feel it would be safer if I go with you. Clearly he wants you to join him. I've tried to keep you, Alice, and Jasper from his notice all these years because he can be relentless when he wants to acquire someone's talents."

"What does Alice see?"

In the background he could hear Alice's voice high, clear, and confident. "I don't see any problems. Yes, Aro will court him, but Edward will refuse. Aro will be disappointed, but he'll accept it."

"Carlisle, you and I both know I have to go alone." Edward suddenly felt weary. "I was the one who revealed our existence, and clearly they know it."

"I don't know –"Carlisle began, cautious, but Edward cut him off.

"It makes sense," he said. "Alice doesn't foresee a problem, but if anything should develop, you have Esme to protect. Stay here. Maybe I can be home for Christmas." He hated making a promise that he knew he wouldn't keep just to make Carlisle agree.

"Don't try emotional blackmail with me, Edward Cullen," Carlisle said grimly. "That's Esme's job." But Edward could hear the beginnings of a smile in his tone, before he grew serious again. "I'm not going to just let you run halfway round the world entirely alone. Alice, Jasper, and I shall travel to London to be on-hand if you need us." Edward heard a gleeful "Yessss!" from Alice. "I don't like it, but I'll inform Aro that you've accepted his invitation."

"Get yourself a decent suit," Alice ordered. "They won't be impressed if you turn up looking like that."

Despite himself, Edward smiled and blew a kiss into the phone. "Charmer!" she called.

….{}….

**June**

As Charlie stuttered condolences and apologies for disturbing him, Carlisle's fists clenched involuntarily and he forced them to relax so he wouldn't break the phone. Then he sighed, closing his eyes and putting his hand on the desk, returning his full attention to Charlie.

"...so I guess I'll try other avenues. ...just been such a strange six months. Anyway, nothing for you to worry about..."

Carlisle replayed Charlie's words. To cover up for his silence, and get more information, he said, "I'm sorry. I'm easily distracted these days. Who told you to contact Edward?"

"The Quileute Elders," came the unexpected answer.

Carlisle's sense of foreboding suddenly, and quickly, deepened. "Tell me."

"It was a few days after Bella went missing. I wasn't allowed near the police station, since there's a rule we can't work on a case when there's a family member involved. They wouldn't tell me anything and I was out of my mind with worry, frustration, and lack of sleep when Billy Black and Sam Uley knocked on my door."

There was a moment of silence, and then he continued.

"Billy told me this wasn't a police matter and that I needed to find your family, since Edward was the key to the problem." He took a deep breath. "I know he was your son, and I'm sorry for your loss, but I got real angry at them. Bella had gone through so much after he left and to hear them talk about him like that…" his voice trailed off. "Anyway, I'm sorry."

Though Charlie's voice shook, Carlisle pretended not to hear it. "No, please, go on." He felt only sympathy. Carlisle had sincere respect for the Quileute people and if their knowledge or instincts prompted them to contact his family, he wanted to hear everything. So far, his actions following Edward's loss had been slow and cautious. He had others to protect. Now it seemed there may be wider issues than had been evident. This couldn't be a coincidence. A hot thread of anger shot through him.

"How are Esme and your family coping?"

Carlisle found it difficult to respond. "Esme has been incredible throughout all this. I truly don't know where she finds the strength." He had been taken aback by her fierceness. She would say, "They've murdered our son, Carlisle, but they are _not _going to bring harm to any other of our children."

Rosalie's rough-voiced plea, "We have to avenge the little twerp," was loudly echoed by Emmett. It had been Esme who slapped them down and forced them to see sense when Carlisle had been paralyzed by shock and grief.

Alice was the most affected. Terrified, yet desperate to know what she saw, Carlisle had tried in vain to support both her and a distraught Jasper. It had been pitiful listening to her attempts to explain her vision; how she'd seen, through a haze of purple smoke, the twisted marionette that was her beloved brother when they'd finished with him; how he'd struggled to look up as Aro gave the final order. Then unrelenting darkness.

"Alice has taken it hard," was all he could say.

"Poor kid." Charlie murmured.

Both men were silent for a few seconds, and then Carlisle gave himself a mental shake. "Please, continue."

"Yeah, so I tried to throw them out, but they wouldn't go, even when I got so mad I threatened to shoot them." Charlie's voice was gruff with embarrassment. "And I just lost it for a while. So damned tired, I guess. They sat with me and I must have eventually dozed off. The next morning, they told me they'd been trying to find you, but had gotten nowhere.

"I felt so useless, not allowed to do anything official, so I agreed to help them search." he paused. Carlisle waited, as he continued in a cautious tone. "Billy and Sam gave their word that this has nothing to do with drugs or organized crime, or anything like that."

Carlisle answered his unasked question. "You have my word, also. We are not involved in such practices."

Charlie blew out a breath. "The hardest part was that they made me swear not to tell anyone what I was doing, and that it would be dangerous for Bella and everyone else. Billy's my oldest friend and I never thought I'd have to put such blind faith in him. To make matters worse, he'd never tell me why we were unable to find you, just that 'it's a bit like witness protection.' I know that's just bullshit and at some point I'm gonna be demanding some real good answers, but right now I just want to find Bells and the boy,"

"You mentioned that Bella wasn't the first?" Amid Carlisle's growing feelings of dread was a suspicion that events had suddenly sped up, rushing toward him with abandon, maybe even too quickly to put his plan into action. Again, he found himself copying Edward's habit of running his hand through his hair. Grief spiked.

Charlie took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and sounded defeated as he said, "Last December, one of the kids from the Res, the son of one of my oldest friends, came into Forks for a new set of Christmas lights. No one has seen him since. I checked around and he never even made it into a shop.

"The kids from the tribe were everywhere I went. I couldn't turn round without tripping over one of them. They formed a search party, but after a few days they all shut down on me, angry and silent. It was like a stone wall. Nobody asked me any questions. Even when the Feds came to check us out, they showed no interest. Just fury."

"They gave up?" Carlisle guessed.

"Nooo," Charlie disagreed. "It was more like resignation. The whole place has been more tense than a piano wire ever since. None of the young kids travel off the Res alone; one of Sam's gang always goes with them."

"Can you tell me about Bella?" Carlisle asked this carefully, knowing that it would be a far more difficult topic.

"Just like the boy." Charlie's tone was flat. "She went to the Thriftway with a friend; One minute Angela was talking to her, and the next minute she was gone." He recalled how Angela had come to the police station, bewildered and frightened, to tell him what happened. He swallowed hard. "And again, Sam and his gang were all over the place. They all keep giving me this look, like they know exactly what's happening. I feel like the damn messenger boy!" There was another moment of silence, and when he spoke again, Charlie sounded a lot more controlled. "So, please, Carlisle, will you tell me what the hell's going on?"

Instead of answering, Carlisle asked, "Did Sam say anything else?"

"Yeah, he said, 'When you find Cullen, tell him we need to talk and that the treaty is stronger than ever.' I have no idea what he meant and he wouldn't expand on that, but now..." Charlie took a deep breath, "Treaty," he mumbled, as though trying to understand the word.

Carlisle turned around to once again look at the photograph and the love, happiness and potential it had represented. "Please, would you be kind enough to convey my regards to the Elders?" He fought to keep his tone level. Although he knew that the message and his response would be grating on Charlie's nerves and igniting his suspicions even further, he found that this bothered him only because it would cause the chief even more distress.

Carlisle's feelings of ever-increasing rage warred with his natural patience, and despite his best efforts, he knew that his control was slipping. Fury mounted every time he thought about his family's tenuous safety. Caution may not serve them, and if his automatic assumptions were correct, Charlie may have already lost a child as well.

With the events of the last few months, his regard for others' so-called "rules of secrecy" was worn thin. As leaders of the vampires, the Volturi should be above dishonorable actions such as breaking assurances and murdering innocents, but Carlisle's world had undergone a paradigm shift since that day at the lake.

"I think I need to meet with Billy and Sam," Carlisle told him. "I'll be there by morning. And please let me know if you hear anything about Bella."

"Thank you, Carlisle."

He paused, feeling a sudden need to validate Edward's actions, for his sake.

"Charlie," he chose his words carefully, "I know how our departure looked to you, and I have a good idea of what it did to Bella. Please know that it was not what it seemed." The words were difficult to force out and Carlisle heard his own smooth tones begin to roughen. "Our decision to leave was not an easy one. We all love her and Esme and I considered her one of our own. And Edward, he… Bella was his universe. He loved her to the end. I swear, I'll do whatever I can to get her back to you."

...{}...

Page 8 of 8


	3. Chapter 3

**The Count of Tuscany**

**Chapter 3 - Agitated**

Beta'ed by Irritable Grizzzly and H4

Disclaimer: All original Twilight characters and events belong to Stephenie Meyer. Everything else is the product of my insomnia. In the unlikely event that you want to use some of this, please ask me first.

…..{}….

**December, six months earlier**. London

Alice looked up from her unpacking. "Edward's getting on the plane now. Nice suit, though I would have preferred the black shoes." Carlisle smiled at her, shaking his head.

Jasper was kneeling on the window seat, peering down at the still-busy traffic along Piccadilly, even though it was nearly midnight. "The theaters have gotten out. How about a stroll across to Covent Garden?"

As Carlisle put on his coat, he noticed Alice standing stock-still, her head on one side as she frowned, eyes far away.

"It's Edward," she said, confused. "The vision is fuzzy. He's fading."

_..-.._..-.._

Edward darted across the turnpike, and then slowed to a walk as he neared his rendezvous point with the Volterran guard by the United Airlines hangar at Boston Logan. Close to the corner of the airfield, he heard a single, clear thought above the hubbub of the surrounding minds. "Edward Cullen?"

A man stepped out from the shadows, looking straight toward him. Edward gave a slight nod, which the man returned. "Demetri," he added, "on behalf of Master Aro."

Edward knew Demetri from Carlisle's memories. He was unswervingly loyal to Aro and had been with him for close on two thousand years. He was also probably the best tracker in the world. It made sense for him to be sent for Edward so that he could memorize the mental pattern that allowed him to track so effectively.

Demetri's brief thoughts were heavily-accented, which Edward had expected. As he saw the tracker make the mental connections that would enable him to pursue Edward worldwide should the need arise, he found that his mind was unusually smooth. Although he caught an undercurrent of humor, other thoughts were not completely clear. They were indistinct, foggy, as though they were objects in a river covered by thick ice. He slowed his pace, focusing warily on the man before him. He thought he could see the beginnings of a smile before a vivid memory was projected toward him.

_In a circular hall of marble stood a lean, dark-haired vampire, with the ruby eyes of a human-feeder and the whitest skin Edward had ever seen. He was speaking earnestly, his hands clasped before him. _

"_Demetri, I am entrusting this to you. Edward Cullen will be an honored guest in our Court, and if we can persuade him to join us, his talents will be invaluable. His heritage is impeccable as Carlisle is his sire and though our connections have waned in recent centuries, we greatly desire to strengthen them once again." _

An hour later Edward stood at the back of the cockpit with his hands in his pockets, feigning nonchalance as he watched the pilot bring the lumbering cargo plane up to speed. He'd often won the customary fight to pilot the Cullen aircraft, but had never flown in a cargo plane. He watched closely, familiarizing himself with the controls as they performed pre-flight checks.

He would much rather be heading for Europe on board the family jet with Carlisle, than here with two Volterran vampires. No doubt Alice would stand before Jasper, hand on his chest, gazing up at him with _that _look on her face. He'd visibly melt and she'd skip triumphantly to the pilot seat.

_Alice, _he thought, _if I could be with you now, even I'd let you drive. _

He felt off balance by his inability to easily access he vampires' thoughts. This was not like the mental silence he'd experienced with Bella, nor the distraction techniques his family used when they wanted some privacy. He couldn't better his analogy of the frozen river. Half-formed images occasionally came into view, their substance unclear and colorless. There were occasional echoes of words, mostly in Latin or Italian but again, not enough to make any kind of sense. He ran his hand through his hair, wondering over and over whether he should have expected this. His own family had developed their own blocking systems within a very few years. Wasn't it reasonable to expect that Aro, with three millennia behind him, and well aware of Edward's gift, would take precautions when welcoming an outsider?

Despite the assurances in Aro's letter, Alice's foresight about the welcome he should expect in Volterra, and the images he gleaned from the minds of the two vampires in front of him, he still felt uneasy. Carlisle had always been aware of how much pressure Aro would place on those he wished to recruit. Edward didn't want to become the Volturi's latest acquisition, but at the same time, to have a task, a purpose, would surely provide at least some relief from his barren existence.

One advantage of traveling in a cargo plane was the low level of human scent saturating the fittings. Clearly, there had been humans here recently; one such scent was particularly strong, but … off, abnormal. Edward frowned.

"Is there a human on board?" he asked, hoping his assumption was wrong. Although he wasn't thirsty, he didn't want to witness an in-flight meal.

Demetri gave a shark's grin over his shoulder, "A little toy that Master Aro asked us to pick up along the way." He turned back to his instruments.

As they lifted off the runway and Boston's lights fell away, Edward felt the remaining shards of his heart crumble. For the first time since he'd met her, he would no longer be on the same continent as Bella, every second leaving her farther behind. This small extra separation hurt far more than he'd expected. He closed his eyes, following Carlisle's habit of taking a slow, deep breath. Hearing it above the drone of the jets, Demetri turned to him. "You're not afraid of flying, are you?"

Edward shook his head and looked down at his feet. The future was an endless vacuum stretching in front of him, day after hopeless day. He fought the urge to tear a hole in the fuselage, dive into the sea, and head back home, to Bella.

He was introduced to the pilot, whose name was Felix. For the next few minutes he exchanged occasional comments with the airport controllers. Then he leveled out their ascent, switched on the automatic pilot, and leaned back in his chair. While Demetri was stocky, Felix was huge, built with the same linebacker physique as Emmett. As a human, he must have been considered a giant.

Carlisle had told Edward about Felix's history as one of the premier gladiators of Augustus' early reign, winning in the Colosseum three consecutive years. He was one of a select few whom Aro invited to be turned, and now the only one left. Over the years, Aro had dispatched those who displeased him.

Demetri swiveled his chair round to face Edward. "We hear from Master Aro that Carlisle has a large coven now." Felix turned to look at him.

"Yes," Edward told him, "there are seven in our family,"

"Seven?" Demetri sounded impressed, but amused. "And you live off of," he laughed, "animal blood?" At Edward's nod, his eyebrows raised. "Carlisle persuaded all of you?"

"Yes," Edward said again, unwilling to be the subject of Demetri's sarcasm, but the vampire was not about to let it go. Gaps seemed to have opened in the smooth surface of his mind, revealing questions about the Cullens' lifestyle that Demetri repeated aloud.

"When was the last time you drank a human?"

"Seventy years ago," Edward said, before realizing his mistake. His chest constricted with the memory of the ballet studio, Bella lying helpless and screaming in his arms, and the heaven that was the taste of her blood. He swallowed, and then curled his fists as Demetri's smug thought reached him.

_You don't look like it suits you, but you'll see sense when you're one of us._

Edward shuddered.

As the plane droned on, he felt every mile that took him away from Bella. He struggled to fight through the waves of loss that threatened to drown him, and forced his attention on his companions. Demetri stretched out his legs, picking up a book. Felix watched a movie. Despite his own increasing misery, Edward felt a twist of amusement to see "White Christmas" on the screen and hear Felix quietly singing along.

Both vampires now shared the unusual gloss over their minds. Edward listened as closely as he could to their thoughts, but mostly he heard comments about what was on the screen. For a short while, Felix's mind was not that of a vampire, but simply a man watching a movie.

Edward grew lost in his own fantasies; how this coming Christmas could have been, should have been, were he still human. How it could be, if he returned. If she took him back. Wistful plans of Christmas markets, midwinter fairs, and ornately-wrapped gifts on Christmas morning unfolded before him. Bella in warm coats, thick scarves, and fur-lined boots, walking in the snow; Bella sipping mulled wine at the fair; both of them skating on a frozen lake, together in the moonlight. He smiled, wryly acknowledging to himself the potential disaster of trying that particular activity.

Without warning, his mind was deluged in images of red. He gasped as hot, sweet, thick liquid memories beat at him, and he crouched instinctively, venom ducts pumping fluid into his mouth, ready for his victim. The memories swirled away, leaving him tense and snarling down at Demetri who'd leapt from his chair to stand before him. As the images retreated, Edward gradually relaxed, gasping as the venom burned his throat. He found himself staring at Felix.

Through the rivers of blood, he'd seen a beautiful flaxen-haired young woman with flowers in her hair, laughing a welcome, her arms outstretched. Two curly-haired children in white woolen tunics skipped toward him, calling out in high-pitched, excited voices. Then screams, as teeth penetrated their soft, buttery flesh - and the blood, the blood, the blood: the sweet, exquisite blood in his throat. Beyond them stood Aro, clapping his hands and smiling, looking positively gleeful. "My dear Felix, did I not promise that you would take care of your family?"

Edward stammered, "Aro fed you your own family?" He was appalled as Felix shrugged.

"They were an inferior species."

Edward heard Felix's pride in his gladiatorial career. Aro had been a familiar figure at the Games, held in awe by even the most important of the Roman senate. Those who participated in the Games soon learned that when he attended, there were no reprieves, no appeals to the crowd for mercy for honorable combatants. He wanted to see blood and officials scrambled to ensure his wishes were followed. To Felix, being chosen by Aro was the ultimate reward for his years in the arena.

Then he fell silent, vocally and mentally, and turned back to his movie.

Edward tried to work out what the precedent of Felix's history boded for him. His initial unease had increased tenfold with the possibility that Aro would twist his assurances to his own ends. What those ends were, Edward didn't want to consider. Surely Alice would have known if Aro had intended to deceive him?

As if to himself, Edward murmured, "I hope you're getting all this."

The human in the cargo bay, Aro's "toy," began to stir as the drugs began to wear off. Edward heard mental mumblings about the cold and aches and shivers, but these were drowsy and almost incoherent at first. He listened sadly, pitying anyone taken to be the plaything of Volterra. What crime had this man – or woman - committed to come to their attention? He wished aloud that Demetri would administer more drugs so that he would not have to hear the prisoner's thoughts.

Demetri laughed, "No, we want him fully awake when he meets Aro."

A man, then. Edward felt a small shred of relief.

The mind grew less groggy, and Edward began to feel its tone.

To his perception, minds often had colors that reflected their underlying personalities. Some were dull, greyed by routine, boredom or sadness; others were flame-bright with joy and passion, or blue, which denoted cool calculation.

This mind washed over him like the world's first sunrise. If he would have combed the Earth for the scent of Bella's blood, then he could bask for a century in this molten gold light; it could soothe away all sadness, all fears, all grief. It was kind, cheerful … and very young.

Edward recoiled in horror. This was a child: thirteen, fourteen perhaps? Surely no more._ Aro's toy. A child. Aro's toy. Oh God._

He stood abruptly. "This is just a kid. You can't…" he got no further.

Demetri bared his teeth and Felix rumbled a low snarl, "You are the aberration here, Cullen. Do not try our patience by questioning our Master's orders."

Edward ran his hand through his hair. His mind was racing, but he could not see a way to help the child behind him. Again, he recalled that Alice was keeping a constant watch on him, and felt a small measure of reassurance from that. Perhaps Carlisle would know what to do. He spun round. "I'm going to see whether he's all right. He's cold and feeling ill."

Demetri wrinkled his nose, "If you can stand to be near him. He's beginning to stink like a dog."

Edward froze. Images of meetings, recollections of scents old and new, and a cautious treaty from decades ago tumbled through his mind. "Where did you collect him?" he asked, hoping that somehow he was wrong, yet knowing the answer before it even began to form in Demetri's mind.

"A dismal fleapit of a town called Forks."

.._..-.._..-.._..


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4 – Time is Running Out**

Beta'ed by Irritable Grizzzly

**Disclaimer: All original Twilight characters and events belong to Stephenie Meyer. Everything else is the product of my insomnia and Irritable Grizzzly's endless skill with her red pen and patience with me.**

**In the unlikely event that you want to use some of this, please ask me first.**

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

"_I wanna stay alive_

_Everything about this place just doesn't feel right_

_I, I don't wanna die_

_Suddenly I'm frightened for my life."_

The Count of Tuscany, by Dream Theater.

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

"... called Forks."

Even before the word was out, Edward had vaulted across the cockpit, landing feet-first on Demetri's knees. He crouched, hands gripping the tops of Demetri's arms in desperation as he glared straight into his eyes. "Did you feed?" he demanded. "In Forks, did you feed?"

The surprise of the maneuver sent the tracker off-balance for the briefest instant, before he jerked forward, trying to head-butt Edward, who twisted away. Then he was back, nose-to-nose. "Did you feed?" He felt panic rising up his body. _They were there! If they came across her..._

Demetri laughed at him. Edward shook him by his shoulders, causing the pilot chair to release ominous groans. A giant paw of a hand gripped his hair and Felix swung him around, throwing him into the bulkhead at the back of the cockpit. The metal buckled and the door burst open.

As Edward sprang to his feet, he heard Felix's intention to push him out into the cargo bay. He ducked so that Felix's swing went over his head, and then twisted, reaching over his shoulder to grab the outstretched arm and haul the vampire over his head and into the corridor. Then he spun around to face Demetri mid-leap, and shot out his right arm, grabbing him by the throat, and swinging him around to hang between him and Felix.

Demetri's smug grin never wavered, the glaze still coating his mind. "Ask me nicely," he crooned, crooking his fingers.

"Peace!" rumbled Felix from behind him. "Let him go, Cullen." Edward hesitated a moment, torn, then lowered Demetri, and glowered at him as Felix said, "Why is this important to you?"

"You recall Cullen's little pet?" Demetri replied for him, his tone jeering. "She's from the same town as the kid."

"Ahh," Felix nodded, calm and serious, not sharing in his colleague's taunts. "We fed, but not on any women." Briefly, the fuzzy images of two men in hiking gear formed in his mind before the gloss again covered his thoughts.

"We may have driven by her house, though," Demetri leered, clearly having fun provoking Edward. "There was one that smelled particularly delicious. Was that what you found…attractive…about her?"

Edward curled his fists. Fear for Bella's safety warred with scalding anger. Like a mantra, he held onto the thought, _"She's safe, they didn't touch her. It's all right," _and fought to stay still. He couldn't hear anything from either of their minds. Were these just lies to mock him?

"Enough!" This time Felix's voice was deafening. "We did not seek her out. We have orders that she remain unharmed. Master Aro was specific." As though that ended the matter, Felix passed them both, going back into the cockpit.

As Demetri pushed past Edward, he allowed one last thought through. "_Freesia?_" He looked up at Edward, and winked, before heading after Felix and pulling the door behind him, forcing its buckled panels almost back into place.

Edward was shaking. He stood in the corridor for long minutes, trying to control his terror.

_Is she safe? Oh, God, please let her be safe. I shouldn't have left her! _Then, Felix's words were before him again. _"We did not seek her out." _ Whom to trust? What to trust? _How does he know about her scent? How _can _he know if he hasn't been near her?_

Demetri's gleeful voice reached him. "I'm going to have such fun with you, Cullen, for the next - oh, ten thousand years or so." He laughed again.

Edward realized he was snarling and forced himself to shut up. Doubtless, Demetri wanted him to arrive in Volterra in an anxious state. Showing him who'd be higher in the pecking order, perhaps? He had no intention of joining Aro's guard, but maybe Demetri didn't believe that. He stayed where he was for a few more minutes, and then turned his attention to the child in the cargo area.

The boy's thoughts were still muddled by the drugs he'd been given, but with each passing minute he was becoming more aware of his surroundings. He knew that he was in a dimly-lit and very noisy, large and cold chamber, in a substantially-built cage, but his dazed confusion was turning rapidly into all-out panic.

Edward walked the few feet down the corridor, picked up a fleece blanket from one of the side rooms, and paused in the doorway to the cargo hold. He searched the child's mind for a clue to his identity. He received swirled frantic images of faces: dad, sister, and most clearly, his mom.

"Hello, Seth," he said gently, "My name is Edward. It's cold in here, so I've brought you a blanket."

As Edward walked slowly toward him, the boy shrank back into the corner of his cage, peering around his knees. Tears poured unnoticed down his face and he shook uncontrollably. He didn't speak, just stared wide-eyed as Edward approached and pushed the blanket through the bars near his shoulder. Seth didn't take it, but merely continued his terrified stare, making small whimpering sounds in-between his sobbing breaths.

"I won't hurt you." Edward used his most soothing voice. "You're feeling cold. Take the blanket and wrap it round you." Seth didn't budge for a few more seconds, but then tentatively reached out his hand to where Edward still held the blanket, weakly grasping it and drawing it to him. To his own surprise, Edward reached as far as he could through the bars to help wrap the boy's shoulders, tucking it around his back and cushioning him from the bars. Whether it was just having a reason to move, or the small kindness, the panic in Seth's mind subsided marginally, allowing for a hint of rational thought.

Edward turned, looking back toward the cockpit, debating whether to rejoin the other vampires. The boy would soon ask questions, and he had no wish to be the one to answer them. It wasn't hard to guess how he would react if Edward told him the truth. This situation was not of his making, so why should he deal with it? On top of that, the boy wasn't even a proper human, he was one of the Quileutes, and despite the treaty, there was no love lost between the Cullens and their former neighbors.

_But the situation is of your making,_ he realized. _You were party to the treaty and Aro probably knows about it. Any danger to the tribe comes from that decision, due to allowing them to live and remaining close by. Volterra may have never known they existed if it wasn't for the treaty and your association with Bella. And this is an innocent, werewolf or no. You can't simply abandon him here, alone and terrified. _

He sighed, turning back.

"I know you're afraid," he said, "and that you feel ill. I won't hurt you." He kept talking, slowly and reassuringly.

"W- where are we?" Seth asked in a trembling voice.

"On a plane," Edward hesitated, "heading for Italy." He crouched down so that they were on the same level, and kept his sentences short. "I'm just a passenger. I didn't know you were here. I won't hurt you."

He paused again. Seth's only response was to make more frightened noises, but he'd understood some of what Edward had said.

"Can y-you get me h-home?" His breathing came in gasps as his sobs temporarily subsided.

Edward shook his head, wondering whether to lie. For a few seconds he couldn't look Seth in the eyes. If he lied, said everything would be all right, would that do any good? Seth was beginning to change, and would soon involuntarily phase. Even if he could get the cage open, what good could that do? It was made of titanium, and might even be strong enough to hold the two pilots, but how could Edward lure them in to trap them? Factoring in that he would have to do this without getting Seth killed in the process, or crash the plane for the same reason, he couldn't see that he had many options at this point. And if they didn't arrive in Italy, and Edward made it back to his family, what retribution would Aro take when he eventually found out?

He scratched his head in indecision. No. At this moment, Alice would be telling Carlisle everything that was happening and they'd work out what to do. If Edward took some rash action, it might ruin any plans they came up with. Jasper was a master strategist and Carlisle knew the personalities involved. His best course would be to feed Alice as much information as possible, and also reassure Seth. It occurred to Edward that the kid might be intended as a bargaining tool to force him to join the Volturi; kidnap someone from Bella's hometown to show that she wasn't safe, and have an opportunity to study one of the Quileutes at the same time? Or was it possible that Aro _didn't _know about the wolf history of the tribe and this was just a coincidence?

He huffed in frustration. There was a missing element in all this. The Cullens had lived in Forks for more than two years without any effect on the tribe, yet the wolf gene had triggered in Sam Uley a short while before they left. Carlisle had worried that it might have resulted from their presence, but as everyone agreed that the transformation was a survival trait for the tribe, it didn't make sense for it to take so long. The legends also said that the wolf-gene caused aging to stop. For it to affect someone as young as Seth and to presumably keep him as an adolescent for decades or centuries, was not a good development for a race of people. As Edward knew only too well, it was bad enough being permanently seventeen, but to be frozen at a younger age would be intolerable.

Could this possibly be a last-ditch evolutionary response to being in close proximity to three vampires? Did their presence cause it? That might explain why this change was coming on so quickly.

Of course, none of this explained how Aro had found out about them without the Cullens being aware they were being watched. Edward finally decided: the best he could do was keep his cool, finding out as much as he could to help Alice.

From the cockpit, he heard yet another chuckle from Demetri, but tried to ignore it. He looked at Seth, who was still waiting for an answer to his question, and shook his head again.

"I wish I could, but at the moment, there's nothing I can do." Seth's face crumpled and he broke into fresh sobs.

For the next couple of hours or so, Edward sat with him and tried to soothe him, while Seth wept and pleaded for Edward to take him home. Edward hated every second of it. One part of his mind asked him over and over why he didn't just walk away and leave the boy to his fate. The other part felt horribly responsible for the danger that the Quileute tribe were facing, and also more empathy with this so-called enemy than with those who were his own kind. True, the callousness of most vampires disturbed him, but this went deeper. This was no way to treat innocents because didn't result from a need to feed. It was the deliberate mental torture of a mere child, and it was unforgivable.

He could hear that Seth had no idea about his developing changes and barely noticed his sharpening senses. His constant tears caused his nose to swell and block, so he couldn't at first take in the strong scents around him. His temperature steadily rose and he quickly flung away the blanket, and then shrugged out of his coat as he became feverish.

As time went on, the endorphins released by his tears gradually left him in a numbed calmness. This began to change as new lupine hormones flushed through his system. They bolstered his courage and, had he known it, refined his instincts. But it also left him weary and aching. Edward could already see the physical changes developing; some of the childlike roundness was leaving Seth's face. These changes would take energy and it must have been many hours since Seth last ate.

Edward left his side at one point to search the cabinets for food, finding cookies and chips, and a few cans of soda. Seth accepted them half-heartedly, wrinkling his nose as he became aware of a previously-unnoticed bleach smell, combined with machine oil, old leather and others he couldn't identify. He ate the cookies while Edward considered how to approach the subject of the Quileute genetic legacy.

"I lived in Forks until recently," he began. Seth looked up with dull interest. "My surname's Cullen. My father, Carlisle, worked at the local hospital." Seth gazed at him and then slowly nodded.

"I've heard of your family." His voice was thin with fatigue, "But I don't think I've ever seen you before." His thought processes reminded Edward of Emmett; as he thought, he spoke. "I'm not …I'm not supposed to talk to any of you."

Edward nodded, giving him a small smile to reassure him. "That doesn't surprise me. My family is a little unusual."

They were both silent for a minute, until Edward tentatively opened with, "I know all about your legends and heritage, and we need to talk about them."

"We do?" Seth clearly couldn't understand what relevance this had to anything. Although his thoughts were still sluggish, he was paying more attention now.

Edward began by reminding him of the stories of his tribe: Kaheleha and the spirit warriors, Yaha Uta and Taha Aki and his Third Wife. Seth sat quietly, gazing wide-eyed at him, surprised that an outsider knew so much, and now looked at him very intently.

Edward moved on to talk about Sam Uley and how he'd undergone his transformation in late spring. Seth interrupted, thinking that this was a joke, but fell silent again when Edward mentioned Sam's panic while he tried to understand what had happened to him, and his estrangement from the tribe until he learned to control himself.

When Edward talked about the Cold Ones, and particularly one coven whose members did not feed on humans because of the treaty negotiated eighty years previously, he heard Seth's internal debate, _"No!…"He's not trying to suggest ...Those are just stories!" _ Edward shook his head and carried on listening to Seth's thoughts. Seth stared at him and narrowed his eyes._"He looks a bit like the legends describe. He's very white ... and he doesn't have red eyes…Don't be stupid, Seth, they're just stories ... and his eyes are yellow, not red…But nobody human has yellow eyes ...We were told never to go near any of them…He can't be!...But he doesn't smell right…He doesn't smell human…No! There's no such thing…But he…If there was, then the wolf stories would be true, too ..." _He suddenly realized that Edward had paused and was looking at him sadly.

"Yes," he confirmed, "the Cold Ones are real and we _are _vampires."

Seth stared at him for a long time, unblinking. Then he slowly cocked his head to one side and inhaled, tentatively at first, then deeply. Edward could feel his concentration. Although he knew he was stronger and faster than Seth, being the focal point of this calculating gaze brought home that these people really could kill his kind. Seth's mind went cold as his new senses analyzed Edward's scent, identifying him as the enemy of humanity. The chirpy, outgoing boy was drawn down into a whirlpool of instinctive hatred.

His heart pounded and his lips drew back in a sneer. Fury built as a hot, scarlet haze blanked his vision and his blood pressure rose.

Demetri and Felix heard the changes in his heartrate and allowed their amusement to leak into their thoughts.

_Aro is going to love his little puppy. Let's hope he's housetrained._

Seth snarled at Edward, the sounds tearing at his human vocal cords. He gripped the bars, knuckles white, then pushed his arm through as far as he could go. The bars dug into his face, as he tried to claw at Edward's eyes. Edward stood just out of reach and spoke to him calmly, keeping his sentences short, though he held little expectation that he would be heard.

"Seth, you're going to phase soon. Just like Sam. Listen to me. I can help you."

Seth hissed through his teeth, "You're a stinking, evil bloodsucker!" His eyes were wild and his face flushed bright red, "I'm going to rip you apart!" Again, he lunged at the bars. Edward could feel only sympathy. He knew only too well how easily the internal beast could swamp the kindest personality and leave it powerless to control its own body and brain.

Demetri had come to the doorway and was thoroughly enjoying what he saw. "Polite, isn't he? I wonder whether Aro will allow Jane to bring him to heel."

Edward shot him a disgusted look.

"I'll kill all of you!" Seth screeched, completely out of control now. "You're just parasites, murderers!"

"Don't worry, little dog," Demetri mock-soothed, grinning widely. "Perhaps we can find you a naughty vampire to use as a chew-toy." He gave Edward a sidelong glance before turning away and heading back to the cockpit.

Once again, Edward was running his hand through his hair, muttering, "Alice, I could use Jasper here right now."

Seth's rage had reached the point where he was trying unsuccessfully to shake the cage bars, while screaming incoherent words. As Edward spoke again, he pulled away, letting out a howl that sounded more animal than human. Then he flung himself backward and phased.

The cage had previously seemed excessively large. Now it was full of a panicking, enraged, sandy wolf. Seth spun round and around, barging unseeing into the cage bars, howling, whimpering and snarling. Edward shared every terrified, angry impression with him.

He kept stumbling, unused to being on four feet; his center of gravity and personal boundaries were all wrong. His nose finished too far from his eyes; his ears were on the top of his head instead of the side, and his lower back felt heavy and unsteady.

The bleach scents that had grown stronger over the past couple of hours now burned their way up into his sinuses until he thought he would go mad with the irritation. His screams came out as howls, hurting his own ears in their intensity, but he couldn't stop. He tried to flee, to get away from all these sounds and stenches, but his body betrayed him. He hit something immovable again and again, until his shoulders were a mass of bruises, yet still he tried to escape. There were voices, shrill and sharp, like fingernails down a blackboard, some mocking him, one authoritative but sympathetic. He leaped again, but succeded only in stunning himself.

Edward reeled from the blow to Seth's head and his crash to the floor that caused the whole aircraft to shudder. The wolf lay panting and stunned, his whirl of thought temporarily subdued. Although Edward's own head rang from the echo of the impact, he tried again.

"This is exactly what Sam went through when he first changed into a wolf. I know how awful this feels. I can help you, Seth. I know you hate vampires; that's natural for you. I know this means you hate me, but I promise, I won't hurt you," he reassured in the same vein, trying to pitch his voice so that to wolf ears it would sound less strident.

To his surprise and relief, Seth began to listen to him again. He was feeling weak now, needing more food to fuel the changes in his body, and exhausted from the fear and fury. For the moment, Seth had neither fight nor flight left in him. As he rested, his body continued to adapt. His olfactory system adjusted so that, while he could still detect all the different scents around him, his nasal cavities were no longer aflame; he could still hear every sound, but they were no longer an overwhelming barrage of thunderous, incomprehensible noise. His instinctive desire to rip, rend, and dismember every vampire he encountered, trickled away with his exhaustion, allowing other thoughts through.

Edward relaxed internally, and kept talking. Sam's thoughts had been particularly loud in the early days, so it had been nearly impossilbe to avoid hearing him. He slowly explained the changes Seth had undergone when he phased and how Sam had learned to change back. As Seth calmed once again, Edward walked round the cage to where his head rested by the bars. He sat down beside him.

"Sam's method was to relax, then imagine he was collapsing in on himself, folding up like a box."

For nearly an hour, Seth struggled to control his fear and fury. At times it overwhelmed him and he howled and writhed, giant paws scrabbling at the floor, his muzzle, bruised and bloody as he forced it between the bars, trying to attack Edward. Then he'd regain control, always a little more, and they'd continue. In some ways it reminded Edward of dealing with newborns, although he wasn't used to being the subject of the attacks.

Eventually, they took a break. Seth curled up facing Edward, eyeing him warily. He'd very quickly worked out that Edward could hear his thoughts - which had caused one of the more violent of his attacks - but for now, his mind held curiosity.

"It's okay," Edward assured him, "you can ask."

_"This is weird."_

For the first time in many hours, Edward gave a brief smile and nodded. "That it is."

_"So how do you get to be a vampire anyway? Did you want it?"_

Glad to have an opportunity to distract Seth from his immediate worries, Edward told him a little about the Spanish Influenza and how it had brought him to Carlisle.

_"So you were just normal, got bit, and that was it? I mean, you weren't, like, evil and asking for it?"_

"No more than anyone else, I suppose."

_"Well that just sucks." _Then, tentatively,_ "Are you evil now?"_

"I don't know." Edward rested his chin on his folded arms. "I don't want to be."

They both fell silent for a while, until a memory surfaced, prompting another question.

_"Wasn't it you who used to date Bella Swan?" _

"Yes." Edward felt the customary ache in his heart at the mention of her name.

_"Jake was real ticked-off when you guys started dating but didn't you, like, dump her? _

The words had never been so difficult to say. "I'm a vampire, and she's human. It wasn't safe for her, so I ... we left."

_"I heard she got sick. My dad told my mom. Depression or something." _Edward's head shot up and he stared at Seth, "Bella's sick?"

Seth had lifted his head to stare right back, his enormous brown-gold eyes sympathetic._ "She really liked you, huh?"_

"Yeah," Edward murmured. "Maybe she did." He put his head back down on his arms, remorse mounting in waves. Could he have caused any more damage? He'd abandoned Bella just before the Volturi discovered her existence. Aro's initial reassurances sounded less reliable now that he was here with his "honor guard." They'd also found out about the tribe at La Push and once they'd studied Seth, no doubt their next priority would be to wipe them all out, uncaring that they were no threat to anyone. They'd do it simply because they could. Along with anyone else in the area.

He forced his fear down, not wanting Seth to pick up on it. The kid had enough to deal with.

How would Aro react to Carlisle's choice of a treaty over genocide? Would it be considered treasonous and give them a reason to destroy his family? Edward had gathered at a very early date that Aro's logic was unpredictable and he had a whim of iron.

Carlisle had found that sometimes Aro was irritated beyond speech by his refusal to adopt Volturi habits of feeding and debauchery, but his excesses had been stayed by the novelty of his guest's habits. In an existence already three millennia long, new diversions were welcome, which brought him back to Seth. Edward was surprised to find that he wasn't indifferent to the tribe's fate, although up until now he'd thought he'd tolerated their proximity mainly for Carlisle's sake. It seemed Bella's influence had extended further than he knew.

Seth yawned. Edward heard his breathing and thoughts beginning to slow. He imagined boxes folding themselves up, corals curling and retracting, flowers closing for the night, and then, with a quiet rustle, he transformed back into his human form. This jolted him out of his doze and he sat up, startled.

"Wha... ?" He stared down at his naked form amidst his tattered clothing for a second, before grabbing the blanket and clutching it to him. "Ew! Not cool."

Edward gave him a brief smile. It was all he could manage. "Welcome back." He stood. "I'll go see whether I can find any clothes for you."

As he reached the doorway Seth said, "I don't hate you, Edward; I know this isn't your fault."

He didn't turn around. He couldn't look at Seth as he muttered, "That makes one of us."

**Oo0oOo0oOo0oO**

Aro stood atop the highest tower, gazing down on his beloved Volaterrae, phone still in his hand. Carlisle had been vague about the reason for his call, enquiring politely whether Edward had met his representatives in Boston, and what time his flight was expected. Aro had reassured him that he had heard from his guard; they had welcomed Edward, he was enjoying a comfortable flight, and they were expected to land at Pisa around ten the following morning.

He pondered, tapping the phone against his chin. Wherever Carlisle was, he would have the psychic with him, and, according to his informant, she should be able to inform him of any aspect of Edward's journey he wished to know. Either Carlisle had another motive for his call, or the witch couldn't give him the information he required. Distance didn't normally cause her any problems, so it seemed something else was interfering.

He went over everything carefully, and tried to think of what could be different. Edward was blocked to her, and there were three creatures on board besides him.

Suddenly Aro felt an upwelling of delight and allowed himself a brief giggle. Caius had argued long and hard against what he termed "Aro's folly" in ordering the abduction of the boy, insisting they shouldn't reveal their knowledge of the wolves until they annihilated them. If a study of the mutant revealed unexpected talents, this snippet of information alone justified any risk. Caius had publicly challenged Aro's judgment but now he'd have to visibly back down.

For the moment, Aro's dominance was secured.

**.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.o0o.**


	5. Chapter 5

**The Count of Tuscany**

**Chapter 5 - And welcomes little fishes in...**

**Disclaimer: All original Twilight characters and events belong to Stephenie Meyer. **

**Irritable Grizzzly is the goddess of grammar, punctuation and toning down my overblown prose. I owe her so much.**

In the unlikely event that you want to use some of this, please ask me first.

**00oo00oo00oo00oo00**

"_I wanna say goodbye_

_This could be the last time you see me alive_

_I, I may not survive_

_Knew it from the moment we arrived" _

**The Count of Tuscany, by Dream Theater**

**oo00oo00oo00oo00oo**

Fleeting sunshine rayed through the high windows of the circular marble chamber, bringing a pearl-white glow to the far wall, before another scudding cloud obscured the light. Three golden thrones stood on a raised dais.

Felix and Demetri bowed before their Volturi masters, affirming their loyalty.

Edward stood behind them, listening with his entire mind, the Volterran court gathered around him. Some of the vampires closest to the thrones blocked their thoughts in similar ways as Felix and Demetri. Edward recognized Jane and her brother Alex from Carlisle's memories, as well as Renata, Chelsea, and Afton.

All courts have their share of guests, visitors, and hangers-on currying for favor. In the domain of the three most powerful creatures on the planet, fear and ambition flavored the air in almost equal measures.

From the mutterings and enquiring thoughts further back, it seemed Edward was an interesting object to the assembly. A few of the vampires studying him were aware of his origins and knew Carlisle, so they understood the reason for his amber eyes.

To others, he was a unique sight. To all, he was an oddity. Despite this, several of the unpaired females were appraising him, admiring the set of his shoulders, his lean height, and his flawless face. Although he was used to hearing such thoughts from humans, he hadn't faced any similar vampire scrutiny since first meeting Tanya, and their quickly-growing interest made him disconcerted. The murmuring grew louder as word spread that _this _was the vampire with a human pet he considered his mate.

_Oh, Bella, I miss you._

Amusement tinged many thoughts; many of the males felt distaste, but most of the females were more imaginative and curious. One in particular was planning to approach him later, delighted by the sight of him, and wondering how his restraint with the human translated into technique. He shifted his stance uncomfortably as imaginings flittered through her mind and she wondered when to approach him. Felix's earlier comment,_ "You are the aberration here, Cullen" _came back to him as he saw himself through the eyes of his audience; his head was down, shoulders stooping in embarrassment, his hands curled into fists ready to be pushed deep into his pockets. He made a conscious effort to straighten and focus on the leaders of his kind.

Aro was in the center of the dais, his posture regal as he gave satisfied smiles to his two kneeling guards. Marcus, to the left, ignored everyone around him as he gazed up toward the windows. Unlike others in the chamber, he wasn't using any kind of mental filter; no restriction on his thoughts.

His mind was simply a fog; a swirling, grey, aching boredom through which intermittent stray notions drifted, only to fade back into the nothingness from which they arose. Edward wondered if this is what he'd become when Bella passed on. For much of the last few weeks every movement, thought, and word had been an effort and left him with a weariness he'd never before experienced. The thought of endless centuries of this void weighed like lead in his brain.

As though Marcus could hear Edward's thoughts, the apathy lifted. An image of a laughing, dark-haired vampire danced before Edward's eyes. "_My Didyme, my happiness. I would have stayed at her side forever, but she was taken from me."_ Though Marcus didn't move, Edward could hear the words directed at him. _"You left your beloved. You are a fool and undeserving of the gift you were given." _He couldn't have agreed more.

With sadness and some anxiety, he realized that because Carlisle had been such a relatively young vampire at the time, and because he wished to see the good in everyone, he'd failed to fully comprehend the power of these minds. They'd been honed over their millennia of rule to diamond-hard assurance and omniscience. There was nothing under the sun that they hadn't seen; no behavior by vampire or human so benevolent or so debauched, that they had not witnessed it, no action to which they couldn't ascribe the motive.

Caius's mind resembled a crystal lattice, all angles and planes of logic and strategy. By contrast, Aro was a cold fire, intuitive but too unpredictable to maintain consistent authority. Before coming to Volterra, Edward had wondered why the Volturi didn't simply consist of Aro; his gift surely gave him an insurmountable advantage. But now he saw that Aro needed Caius, and couldn't have ruled for long without him. They had a competitive and uneasy partnership founded on a healthy mutual distrust.

Standing before them, he noticed their differences were even more apparent. Caius's gaze was analytical, weighing up whether Edward's connection with Carlisle was worth the trouble of allowing him to survive the day. Aro radiated a welcome. He seemed joyful to finally meet the son of his old friend. Although there was still much under the surface that Edward couldn't hear, he felt reassured for the first time since leaving Boston.

He wasn't so confident, though, that Aro's pleasure would extend to Seth. He could hear the boy, somewhere far below, ravenously hungry and weeping, physically and emotionally exhausted. Although Edward would have denied that such a thing was possible twenty-four hours earlier, he had very warm feelings toward the wolf, and was touched by his easy acceptance. When he'd voiced his lack of hatred of Edward, his mind had been completely clear of any kind of prejudice. This remarkable openness endeared him to Edward, and as a result he felt even guiltier about the kid's situation.

Aro rose to his feet, extending his hand toward Edward. "Come, my young friend," he said in a kindly tone. "Fascinating accounts have reached our ears about your adventures during the past months. Please allow me to fully make your acquaintance and gain an understanding."

Edward and his family had known this act was inevitable once he received his summons to Volterra. To deliver his whole life's experience to Aro in a silent inquest felt like a capital punishment. All that Edward knew would be laid bare: Bella's smiles that were just for him, her preferences, how her scent changed with her moods, the words she whispered in her sleep, every kiss and caress ... and the taste of her blood.

Aro would steal from him every fear, hope, and moment of torment or bliss, and they would no longer be his alone. No doubt Rosalie would consider it justice for the decades of having her failings constantly open to Edward's unwilling scrutiny, but he did try to block it out as much as he could and give them their privacy. Aro wasn't limited to present thoughts and wouldn't fail to examine every last one.

He extended his right hand, reluctant to end his last few seconds of individuality. When Aro clasped his fingers, Edward staggered. The chamber around him dissolved away as his memories flowed, slowly and with hardly visible movement at first, and then gradually increasing to a torrent.

He'd always assumed the filter would start with his earliest years and progress in a linear fashion until they reached the present, but this wasn't the case. The draining of his life bore more resemblance to water swirling down a plughole; a vortex of imagery and sound, effect preceding cause, yesterday's events followed by those from a century past. He couldn't fathom how Aro would make any sense of it.

Every memory of Bella felt like a lightning bolt through his head, and there seemed to be more memories of her than almost anything else. The decades he'd spent in education of various kinds: high school, college, med school; these were fragmented and uniform, as though he'd passed the time in a trance, impervious to events around him. Even his early years with Carlisle and Esme, and his later rebellious wanderings, held a sepia dullness that threw his months with Bella into Technicolor relief. Every anguished moment tore at him. He tried to pull away, but Aro's will pinned him in place while he mentally drank Edward's life.

Aro delighted in every kiss and caress; he lingered over James's pursuit of Bella and the showdown in the ballet studio, and saturated himself in every opium drop of her blood: its taste, thick sweetness, and overpowering scent. Both their venom ducts responded to the memories.

Finally he reached the most painful of all: Bella in the forest, her tears, to vampire eyes, like two rainbow tracks down her cheeks. She stood before him again, just as she had that day, looking directly into his eyes as her hope faded. He'd forced himself not to reach out, not to wipe away her tears, not to pull her to him and swear never to leave her. In his head he'd given one unending scream, and it had seemed impossible she couldn't hear it.

Aro lingered over these last moments before dropping his hand and breaking the connection. No longer frozen in the memory stream, Edward fell to his knees. His head felt bruised, as though his brain had survived a beating, and the barrage of emotions reduced his breath to sobs. Over and over he heard Aro analyzing and reveling in the best, and most painful, moments of his life.

Then he placed his hand above Edward's head, as though in a benediction. Edward looked up into eyes of liquid ruby. "So this is how it is," Aro said. "She is more than your Singer; she is your Siren. Beware that you are not lured to the rocks like your predecessors of old." He glanced at Marcus and a momentary image passed through his mind. Edward recognized the woman. It was the one Marcus had called "Didyme," but this time she was screaming as flames enveloped her. Edward flinched from the image and barely had time to recover before Aro looked back at him, his thoughts again on the sweetness of Bella's blood as he unconsciously licked his lips and Edward caught an envious _"... if she were mine ..."_

Aro looked across to Caius as he was addressing the Court. "The accounts we hear are correct. Young Edward has indeed fallen in love with his Singer. He has had prolonged contact with her and has even tasted her blood, yet still she lives. His restraint is remarkable." There was a murmur among the audience. Aro continued. "He has still broken our primary law; the human knows of his nature, and much about our culture. These are matters not to be treated lightly, and we must carefully deliberate, given the mitigating circumstances." He looked down again at Edward, who still knelt before the dais. "There is a chamber in the north tower which you may use for the duration of your stay. Demetrios will guide you." Then he turned away. Clearly dismissed, Edward stood and turned to Demetri, who jerked his head toward a door at the back of the chamber.

As they left, Aro hummed Bella's lullaby. Edward spun round to see the flash of Aro's eyes across the chamber. A wave of fear surged through him. _"Yes, young Edward," _he heard, _"I know you now." _It was followed by a mental chuckle as he again turned away.

In the hallway, Demetri looked at him sideways. "Aro seemed impressed," he said, serious for once. "That doesn't happen very often." Demetri's expression was thoughtful for a moment, and then the familiar malicious smile spread across his face as he met Edward's widening eyes. "Aro hates being impressed; it feeds his insecurities and makes him jealous." His grin widened. "I wonder how he'll punish you for it."

Another chill ran through Edward. He had no idea whether Demetri was simply playing with him. Lacking his normal ability to understand all that was going on around him, he was thrown off-balance. Since meeting the Volterran vampires in Boston, he'd lurched from one fear to another: first for Bella, then his family, and now Seth and the tribe at La Push. He wasn't worried for himself. Life without Bella was painful and intolerable, and ending it wouldn't be a welcome relief, but Aro could hurt him through so many other people.

They reached the room allocated to him, and it took Edward only a few seconds to familiarize himself with it. It was a small apartment decorated in bright and sunny colors, so that it looked spring-like even in December, and had all the creature-comforts a human would need: a fully-working kitchen, a bathroom, and a bed. Demetri responded to his questioning look with a simple, "Sometimes we have human guests." He was more interested in the reaction of the other vampires in the marble chamber. "Did you see Portia downstairs?" he asked. "I think she has her eye on you."

"No," Edward mumbled, not wanting to pursue this.

"I can introduce you, if you like. She is…" he paused, "quite delectable," he said, allowing various images from his own liaisons to filter through.

"No!" Edward repeated, more strongly, and Demetri shrugged and left.

There was no phone, and Demetri had taken Edward's cell in Boston. He frowned, but consoled himself that it didn't really matter. No doubt Carlisle would already know everything Edward would say anyhow. He wondered whether Carlisle would find an excuse to visit, but hoped he wouldn't be in too much of a hurry. Edward was by no means convinced that all would be well. If his visit turned sour, he didn't want any other members of his family involved.

There was a balcony outside the French doors. From it, he could see down into the courtyard or across the roofs to the city and the hills beyond. He gazed across terra cotta tiles to fields and vineyards, bare greens and browns under the watery winter sunshine. He could hear the rumbling of traffic and voices of workers and tourists as they strolled, oblivious, outside the castle.

Below him, the courtyard was an expanse of ocher stone. Here and there olive and citrus trees provided shade around a central fountain with intricately-carved stone benches beneath them. Surrounded by the castle walls and towers, this peaceful spot was sheltered from the breezes.

A couple of dozen cats roamed freely around this oasis, totally at ease. In the manner of felines everywhere, they found the sunniest spots, irrespective of the proximity of the vampires enjoying the garden. Edward didn't see any of them rub against anyone's legs, as they would to humans, but he saw a cat permit its head to be scratched and another slept on one of the stone benches beside two chatting vampires.

This tranquil scene was marred by only one thing: At the far corner, it seemed the Volturi had an issue with the foundations of the castle. A Bobcat stood idle beside an excavation at least a dozen feet deep, its sides shored up by thick planks. This place was full of oddities. At home, Esme would have organized the Cullens so that all jobs were completed without a break.

The Cullens; his family. Their faces were before him now.

_I want to go home._

He wanted Esme to hug him, Alice to order him around, Emmett and Jasper to tease him, Rosalie to be exasperated with him, and Carlisle to reassure him that everything was all right.

More than any of these, he wanted Bella. Just to see her smile, perhaps to watch her while she slept, or simply sit with his arms around her. For him, to do these everyday actions, free from fear, would be more than he'd ever dreamed. But for the moment he was here, and he had to let it all play out, and deal with his new responsibility - Seth.

To that end, he went to leave the castle to look for food. The castle walls were high and he could stay in the shadows while he visited a pizzeria.

Crossing to the outer Bailey, past the rows of parked, mirror-windowed cars, he saw Jane standing before the gateway, tiny in her black cloak. There was no intonation in her voice as she said, "You may not leave the castle."

Edward stared down at her. "Why?"

"Master Aro's orders," she said in the same flat tone.

"But I -"

"Orders!" As Jane turned to walk away, Edward reached for her on instinct. She spun around, her scarlet eyes glaring in fury.

Instantly, every nerve cell in his body flamed in screaming agony, and he experienced a pain worse than his change into a vampire. His vision exploded in red and black fireworks as he tumbled to the floor. He was distantly aware of pistol-shot sounds of joints cracking as his body convulsed. Then there was nothing but the burning. He was oblivious to his own gasps, his jaw clenched shut as he rolled and twisted under Jane's continuing stare. As she released him, he felt like he would burn forever.

For an instant after Jane withdrew, the lack of agony was like a muffled silence, but then the pain from his contortions struck him again, and he took stock of the damage. His spine had borne the brunt of his ordeal. The vertebrae at his waist had shattered like glass daggers in his stony flesh. As he tentatively straightened, bracing and willing himself to _just do it _and get it over with, he felt his body quickly begin to repair. He shook his head, groggy, but also with anger and disbelief shooting through him. He'd simply been trying to gain her attention to explain about Seth. As he lifted his head to look at the vile creature, his whole body protested the movement.

"Jane!" His voice sounded hoarse and his tone more angry than he'd expected. Lifting his eyes, he saw her still standing before him where she'd clearly been enjoying the sight of his agony.

"You do **not **touch me," she hissed, eyes flashing again. "No-one touches me!" Her thoughts swirled around him. There were flames and a jeering mob clad in homespun medieval garb, yelling obscenities. He relived her panic as she and her twin, Alec, were half-carried to stakes and tightly bound with rough rope, both of them struggling desperately as the brushwood surrounding them was lit.

The images dulled his anger. "I - I'm sorry," he stammered, "I merely wanted to explain." He shook his head to clear it. "Seth, the kid, he's hungry. I was going to get some food for him."

Jane stared back as though he spoke insanities, "For what reason?"

Edward repeated, woodenly, "He's hungry. He needs human food."

For a heartbeat longer, Jane returned his gaze, and then she nodded. "I'll see to it. _You _may not leave the castle."

Edward sat on the path watching her retreating figure, before he tentatively stood and stretched. Cramps shot through many of his muscles, particularly those in his lower back.

He walked slowly back through the inner wall and into the courtyard where he found an empty bench near the fountain. While sitting and watching the dancing water, he took stock of his situation. Why hadn't Alice seen any of this? Why didn't Carlisle come to put this situation right? Edward couldn't imagine any circumstance in which Carlisle would tolerate the abduction of one of the children from La Push, even though technically it didn't breach the treaty. In Edward's view, if the Cullens didn't do all they could to get Seth home, the tribe would view the treaty as blown apart, and he couldn't blame them. In their place he'd feel the same way.

One of the cats jumped up onto the bench next to him. He gazed down at it, amazed, thinking about the cat that had run from him the rainy night Carlisle had told him he needed to come to Volterra. This was the closest he'd been to a non-prey animal for many years.

The cat calmly returned his look before settling down, tucking its front feet under its body. Slowly, Edward held out his hand. The cat sniffed casually at his fingers before it squinted and put its head to one side, an invitation to scratch behind its ears. Carefully, gingerly, he did. He felt a thrill of pleasure being so close to a living creature, despite everything that was going on. The cat was warm, its fur soft and silky under his fingers. Fascinated, he watched his fingers scratching gently behind its ears, and it purred as it moved its head from side to side.

Around him was the hum and hubbub of minds, the usual background noise that almost continually accompanied his life. The tone was different here, though. Around humans he would hear a range of thoughts, from happy to furious, to despairing. Here there was callousness, desire for blood, and distain for all creatures that lived. From Marcus he caught an occasional mournful pang of loss, from Chelsea he heard, "_ties are too strong,_" before the rest of the thought muffled and was lost.

_"I don't care what they say," _Edward thought. _"I can't stay here. If Aro offers me a place, there's no way I'm going to accept." _

Thinking back over Carlisle's memories of the Court in the early eighteenth century, he could see the similarities. Little seemed to have changed, and he found it difficult to understand how Carlisle could have tolerated the place for years. In the past he'd encountered vampires who'd acted with casual brutality, and had heard all Carlisle's thoughts about the Volturi and their habits, but the reality felt far more callous.

He wanted no part of it. If he had to stay, subject to the thoughts of these monsters, it was unthinkable. He'd known that his family was different from others, but now he felt as though he belonged to a different species. Yes, he knew only too well the desire to feed on humans and the overwhelming bloodlust that raged within, but none of his family, not even Jasper in his early days with Maria, ever had this degree of heartless disregard for their human prey. The Volturi were like giants treading on ants and reveling in their strength.

Perhaps it was living in the outside world that gave the Cullens behavioral expectations that clashed with the lifestyle of these vampires.

Why had Carlisle's memories of this place not seemed so bad? Was it that life in the seventeenth century was so much more brutal than in the twenty-first? How could Carlisle have stood this place for so long?

_"You're dangerous_," she'd said, "_but not bad. No, I don't believe that you're bad_." He felt a pulse of hope that maybe he was more - human - than the vampires around him. Maybe he wasn't the monster he'd believed, and he'd needed to come here to see it. The Cullens kept well away from their kind most of the time. "_Oh, Bella_," his sigh was soundless, "_if only_..."

But Bella was far away, and he felt responsible for Seth. He wasn't sure whether his reaction to the kid was an over-the-top response to being accepted by another human, or to the warm gold of his mind, but Edward wanted to protect him and get him safely home. The only problem was that couldn't see how he could do this. Maybe he could at least keep the kid company, and see whether Jane had meant it when she said she'd get him food.

As he was about to make his way there, he heard a wail of anguish and disgust. Although he hadn't visited the labyrinth of caves and cells under the castle, by following the mix of weeping and mocking laughter he found Seth within a few seconds. He didn't need to ask; the open gloating of Demetri's mind and the aroma rising from the plateful of raw, dripping, human flesh said it all.

Demetri turned as Edward halted in the cell doorway. "Ah, Edward," he said airily, licking a smear of blood from his thumb. "Rump steak? Sorry, we've had no deliveries today; we're having to make do with leftovers."

Edward knew this little display was intended to mock him just as much as Seth. For an instant he considered throwing the plate and its gruesome contents up the passageway, but the part of his mind not consumed with rage reminded him that this would make matters worse, having the scent all over the walls, and turning rancid as it dried.

Instead, he picked up the platter, replacing its silver lid, and depositing it outside the cell. Demetri said, "What's the matter? You—" Edward spun as he straightened, reaching out to seize Demetri's neck and fling him, twisting, up the corridor. He crashed into the far wall, bringing down a tumble of large stones beside a heavy oak door. "... asked for human food," Demetri continued uninterrupted. He sat amongst the stones with his usual grin still across his face, making a play of dusting off his jacket. "Please show some respect to the clothes; this _is _Armani."

Felix and Jane stepped into the passageway, wondering what had caused the noise. Seeing Edward standing protectively across the doorway, and smelling the raw flesh, Jane smiled. "Tsk, tsk," she said. "You're such a tease, Demetrios. You know Master wants him strong."

From his seat in the rubble, Demetri replied innocently, "But Jane, dear, I thought wolves needed protein. But, of course, he's a dog and this is cat food." He stood, picking up the plate, and allowing Edward to know before he left that one of the human receptionists had been sent out for pizza and fries.

Jane turned to Edward. "Control yourself," she said.

As she and Felix departed again, Edward turned to where Seth lay, keening, in the corner. This cell had metal walls, dull and scratched with age. In the scratches and joints in the corners were flakes and remains of organic matter - skin and blood, Edward surmised.

Ordinary stone dungeon walls would be sufficient to imprison humans. He assumed this cell was normally used for prisoners who were significantly stronger, though why the Volturi would need to imprison other vampires he didn't want to know, especially if it was for a long enough time that they needed to feed.

He knelt down beside Seth. The kid was in a huddle, swamped by the baggy denim overalls Edward had found on the plane. He didn't seem to be aware of anything but his own misery. His mind was a whirl of terror, grief, hunger, and thirst. Time and again, Edward saw images of Sue Clearwater as Seth longed to be safely back with her.

Tentatively, Edward touched his shoulder. Seth started with a yell, scuttling backwards away from him, but stopped when he realized who it was.

"E- Edward?" he asked, and then flung himself across the cell, wrapping his arms around Edward's waist, and hiding his head as he sobbed. For a couple of seconds Edward was taken aback by the action, and simply stood, arms open, as he looked down at the top of Seth's head. No one outside his family, other than Bella, had ever sought comfort from him in this way.

Then, chiding himself for his lack of empathy, Edward sat beside the wall, and hugged him, giving what reassurance he could. They sat this way until Edward heard someone approach. To his relief, the thoughts weren't Demetri's; they were those of a human female, but any hope he might have had for sympathy and help for Seth, were short-lived. She was thinking about the interruption to her work and the uneven footing of her high heels on the worn, stone steps. With a silent glare, she handed Edward a large paper bag before stalking back out of the cell.

Once Seth calmed enough to eat, he very quickly downed everything, finishing off with a huge bottle of water, then sighed and leaned back, propped up against Edward's side. They sat for a long time while Seth's thoughts slowed. Edward assumed the heavy meal was making him drowsy, but just as he expected Seth to fall asleep, he heard him thinking about the differences between the Cullens and what he'd seen of the Volterran vampires.

"Why are your kind and my tribe enemies?"

Edward was puzzled. "Seth - we're vampires, and you're werewolves. We're natural enemies. We can't even stand the smell of each other.'

Seth looked up. "Do I smell bad to you?"

Edward gave a brief chuckle. "Yes, you do. You smell like wet dog."

"Oh!" Seth sounded surprised. "Well, you smell like the stuff my mom uses to clean the bathroom." They both grinned. "Do you smell this bad to regular humans?"

"Ah, no," Edward said awkwardly. "We smell very good to them. It's a lure."

Seth breathed in deep. "But you're not like the vampires here, are you." It wasn't a question. "Thank you, Edward."

"I haven't done anything."

"You have. Whatever happens, thank you for being my friend." Edward momentarily tightened his hug in response. He could hear that Seth meant what he said, and while he knew he deserved no such praise, he didn't want to argue.

"Are you the only telepath?"

"Carlisle thinks so; he's never heard of another." Edward spoke quietly, but it didn't really matter whether anyone heard. After all, Aro knew everything about him now.

Under other circumstances, he would have enjoyed talking to Seth - or rather, he reminded himself - under any circumstances in which he'd stomach talking to a wolf. He told him about his family, how they all met, and their various talents. He managed to make Seth laugh a little, with tales of how his family tried to keep secrets from him, and their various attempts to find ways to block their thoughts. "Christmases were always tough. I had to pretend I was surprised with what they gave me. After a few years Alice and Jasper joined us and she found ways to stop me."

"How does she do that?"

"All kinds of ways - translating literature from one language to another is her favorite. She generally picks books she knows I won't like. One summer she read a whole series of trashy romance novels just to torment me."

He also went into detail about Aro's gift. "This is why Carlisle thinks Aro wants me to join his guard. I'd be able to hear the mind of every visitor and relay anything of import to Aro without him having to touch each of them. This would make me very valuable. Nobody would be able to hide anything from him."

"S-So you can hear everyone's thoughts?" Seth stammered. "Do you know what they're going to - going to - do with me?"

"No. They have a very effective way of blocking my thoughts; they're pretty much only letting through what they want me to hear."

They fell silent again as Seth thought over this new information.

"Edward, there's something I don't get."

"Hmm? What's that?"

"If you're the first-ever telepath," Seth spoke slowly, thoughtfully, "how did they know how to block you?"

Edward stared at Seth, speechless, as a domino effect of consequences tumbled through his mind.

They did know exactly how to block him. They had to have practiced.

He wasn't the first telepath.

He wasn't unique.

How many had there been?

Where were they now?

What had Aro done to them?

They'd been playing him from the start.

**-===:===-**

A/N

Thanks to H4 and Hidemyhead for egging me on to do mischief.

To everyone who's read, and especially to the wonderful people who've reviewed, thank you so much. My ego's off in the corner preening itself like an overgrown budgie.


	6. Chapter 6

**The Count of Tuscany**

**Chapter 6 - Cave Canis**

**Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. In the unlikely event that you want to use any of this, please ask me first.**

**Irritable Grizzzly has put in a heck of a lot of work on this chapter – well above & beyond the call of duty. She is wonderful.**

**Thanks also to Hidemyhead and H4 for chat & checking.**

**-+++000+++-**

_"If you're the first-ever telepath," Seth spoke slowly, thoughtfully, "how did they know how to block you?"_

_He wasn't the first telepath. _

_He wasn't unique._

_How many had there been? _

_Where were they now? _

_What had Aro done to them?_

**-+O+-**

Seth met Edward's stunned stare with the same innocent curiosity with which he'd asked his question. Edward stuttered out a bland response while his mind reeled. The kid chatted on for a few minutes, but Edward could hear his thoughts drifting and growing slower as he got sleepier.

Finally he yawned and slid down onto the thick mattress, pulling his blanket over him, and looked up. "You won't go away, will you?"

"No, I'll watch over you." Edward promised, and Seth nodded and lowered his head back down. Within seconds he was asleep.

His dreams were few and deep, and he barely moved. If he lived long enough, maybe on other nights his thoughts would be full of red eyes, mocking laughter, anger, and brutality. For now, he was oblivious to the enormity of his situation. Edward stood motionless as the night slowly drew on, listening, always listening, trying to pick up on any stray thoughts that might help him understand his situation.

He was glad he didn't need to breathe unless he was speaking. Although he liked Seth, the scent of hound grew stronger as time passed, and it was getting harder to ignore. He didn't mind it as much as he used to, but some of his instincts still urged him to destroy the source of the stench, while another part of him felt homesick. This scent had been steeped into much of the countryside to the west of Forks when the Cullens had lived in Hoquiam, and again this past summer after Sam phased. No matter how long he existed, or wherever he lived, Forks would always be his home. Where his heart lay.

Until September, he'd looked forward to Christmas more than ever before. The Cullens had always made it special, combining their favorite traditions from their former human lives.

It wasn't often a Cullen was absent for Christmas but his family would still go through their rituals. Carlisle always said, "We're still a family, whether we're together or not. When we undertake our festivities, it is on behalf of us all."

Edward had once hoped that this Christmas would be the first of many in which he and Bella could wholeheartedly join their celebrations. He wanted to shower her with lavish gifts, make her dreams come true, and spend every instant of the precious day with her. He'd already started laying groundwork for buying her a car, casually introducing the subject with Charlie when Bella wasn't around.

He'd also bought old copies of her favorite classics, learned the craft of making tooled-leather bindings, and had been restoring the set. On the front of each book he'd embossed her name in flowing script, and then illuminated it with gold leaf. He'd used more gold in the middle of the back cover, where he put a logo of a swan.

Even with vampire dexterity the work was time-consuming, but he'd poured his heart into every minute of it. He'd imagined her tracing her name on the soft leather, and the pleasure she'd get from reading them, knowing that it wasn't a gift that screamed "money" but whispered "love."

There would be no whispers of love now - he'd made sure of that; or, at least none that she'd hear.

As they had when he'd crouched in the tree in Boston, his thoughts continued their merry-go-round of jealous and fearful logic. Would Newton be kissing her under the mistletoe this Christmas? Would she now prefer the warmth and softness of human lips instead of his cold stone ones? Or, as he recalled Seth's statement, was his desertion still causing her enough pain that she couldn't get on with her life? Neither scenario was tolerable to him. If he couldn't bear the thought that she was giving her smiles and love to someone else, it was torture to believe he was responsible for causing her unhappiness.

Above and around him, Volterran activity continued with a minimal acknowledgement of the late hour. Too much noise from the castle would be noticed by the humans, so quieter activities took over at night and external lights were extinguished.

Similar to the Cullens, many vampires studied at night. One group was practicing Swedish with a visitor; in another room, a small orchestra rehearsed a Gershwin medley. To his befuddlement, one group was even performing Tai Chi.

From time to time he heard his own name, or saw his image in the minds of other vampires. Each time, he focused hard on the transmitting mind, but gleaned nothing useful. Most of them were admiring his talents from when he was in the marble chamber, or reflecting in amusement over his choice of a pet for a mate. He listened to a conversation between Portia and Demetri, in which she asked about Edward, but received only guarded answers.

Time and again his thoughts returned to Seth, and how to get him home. Jasper would be working on a strategy, but he wasn't sure how long they'd have. Jane's comment to Demetri that Aro wanted him strong was proof they had plans in place, and Edward knew from Carlisle that once a decision was made, the Volturi didn't delay.

Silently, he mouthed for Alice, _We have to get Seth out of here. Tell me what I need to do._

The kid drew in a deep, shuddering breath, and the night wore on.

Seth grew nearly two inches taller during the night, and awoke ravenous again. Another human assistant brought him a large breakfast, which, despite his fears, he ate to the last crumb. The human spoke only to inform Edward that Aro intended to visit later that morning.

After breakfast, Seth was given access to a bathroom and shower, and spent an hour or so sitting cross-legged on his mattress, picking at a stray thread while Edward told him about the Volturi.

"Because Aro's gift works by touch, he'll want to take your hand." Edward told him.

"Will it hurt?" Seth asked, alarmed.

Edward grimaced. "No, but it's not pleasant," he admitted. "You watch as Aro observes every minute of your life, good or bad; everything you're ashamed of."

Seth frowned as he thought this over, and then he flushed red and recoiled. "So - that time I saw Leah's boobs through the window?" He sounded appalled.

_Dear Lord,_ Edwardthought, suppressing simultaneous impulses to smile or break something, _how to protect such an innocent?_ Aloud, he said reassuringly, "He's seen far worse, he's -"

"But he'll find out about my family!" Seth interrupted, his voice shrill. "And the tribe, won't he? _Won't he!" _Then he scrambled half to his feet asimages of his family and friends flashed through his mind. He pictured black-cloaked vampires surrounding the Council offices in La Push and at his home, his mom thrown to the floor, her throat bloody as his father tried to reach her; Leah flattened against the wall, screaming.

Edward swallowed a rush of venom as the image of blood triggered his instincts. He closed his eyes for a second, taking a slow breath, before he could reply. "It won't matter." He fought to speak in soothing tones. "He knows pretty much everything anyway, from reading my memories. I'm so sorry, Seth. If I could have stopped him, I would have."

Seth sank back, trembling. "I know," he mumbled as his thoughts whirled, faster and faster. _Another vampire … the world's most powerful vampire ... he'll see everything ... another vampire ...I don't want to see Arrow. I don't want him to come here, I don't want to take his hand...I want my mom_ ... _please God, let me go home, I'll be so good, I'll do all my chores..._

Edward crouched down and put his arms round the kid's shoulders, "Shhhh." He tried to soothe him, but it was too late, Seth's wolf-instincts were kicking into high gear. His muscles bunched and the shaking grew worse as his teeth chattering uncontrollably. "Seth listen!" Edward said loudly to get his attention. "You're going to phase. D'you understand me?"

Seth nodded jerkily.

"I'll go into the corridor. If you want to remove the ov..." It was too late. Edward rode the shockwave in his dive out the door as the universe shifted. In place of human-Seth, an enormous sandy wolf sat awkwardly on the mattress, shaking his head, his oversized paws already slipping on the smooth metal floor.

Edward looked hesitantly round the doorway, listening carefully to the tenor of Seth's thoughts. If his wolfy instincts overcame him, this time there were no bars to protect Edward from those teeth, and he didn't want to have to defend himself. The two guards down the corridor were in defensive crouches, wondering what was going on. Seth growled a low rumble, smelling them, but his thoughts were already more calm. _It's okay, Edward, I know it's you._ Relieved, Edward walked slowly over to him. Seth wrinkled his snout, revealing long teeth. _You smell way worse. It's itching my nose. _He turned away and sneezed loudly. The two guards rushed to the doorway, ready to attack. Seth crouched down, set to spring, his growl rising to a roar.

"Go!" Edward ordered them. "He won't attack if you keep your distance."

As they backed off, Edward heard footsteps and someone singing quietly but cheerily, "Quantum ille canis est in fenestra." This was accompanied by a familiar but unwelcome mental voice._ "Still associating with animals, I see. You are just like - what was his name? Dr Doolittle." _Edward ignored Demetri, focusing instead on the rest of the approaching party.

"Aro's coming to see you."

Seth backed up to the far wall as the vampires filed in the door. All three Volturi were present.

Fear and murderous rage warred in Seth's thoughts, reflected in his alternate growls and whines, and his fur stood on end as he pressed himself into the wall. Edward stood next to him, one hand at his shoulder, trying to show him some comfort, some - humanity - he thought, aware of the irony.

Waving Renata away, Aro drifted toward them, not taking his eyes off Seth. Caius's scrutiny was equally intense. Even Marcus showed interest. Edward could hear him weighing up the growing acceptance between them. _Friends, _was his assessment.

Aro studied Seth, slowly taking in his size, muscular frame, and teeth. "The mutant is an impressive specimen," he said to Edward, without taking his eyes off the wolf. "Have you informed it of my intent?'

_Mutant? Does he mean _me_? _Seth's fear temporarily gave way to indignation and he raised one side of his muzzle in a sneer, showing his long canines.

"Yes, Aro," Edward said, slowly combing his fingers through Seth's fur, hoping he'd stay still. "He understands what you're going to do."

This time Aro spoke directly to Seth, indicating Renata. "She is my bodyguard and any attempt to attack will result in your immediate destruction. Nod if you understand."

Although he glared, Seth nodded. Jane and Alec stepped forward to be at Aro's side, with Felix and Santiago close behind.

_Move away, Edward._

At Aro's silent order, Edward looked up into Seth's brown-gold eyes, gave one last pat, and said, "I have to go over there. Please stay calm." Seth whimpered as shudders ran the length of his body, fighting his impulse to rend and flee.

Santiago and Felix put their hands out, ready to immobilize Seth should it be needed. As Santiago touched Seth's fur, he cried, pulling his hand back as though burned. Instantly, Aro leaped back as Renata, Jane and Alec positioned themselves in front of him. There was a cacophony of snarls, and Edward lurched forward. All the polished mental shields were down as he heard their hatred, distain, disgust, and intent to slaughter. Then came the agony; mounting, sickening agony. He reeled from the deluge, hearing Demetri's intention to seize his arms, and twisted sideways, trying to get to Jane. Her delighted smile needed no explanation.

Edward stumbled, flinching, his mind blasted by reflected pain. This gave Demetri the split-second he needed to grab his arms, wrenching them backwards. He struggled against Demetri's grip in an effort to get to Seth before they tortured him, crying out as his sockets dislocated under the pressure, just as his head was swamped with a maelstrom of sound and images.

Through Marcus's eyes the grim dungeon seemed almost bright, decorated with flowing, colorful ribbons, with links showing who was allied with whom. He wasn't currently interested in the wolf, but focused again on Edward. "_I could never have left my Didyme, my beauty. She and I would still be happily together if the Romanians..." _Then there was Aro, dressed in a toga and sandals, grief on his face. _"My dear brother, if I could only have reached her a few minutes earlier. I tried so hard to save her, but found only her ashes blowing in the wind..._"

Caius stood apart, intrigued, surveying the whole scene. He concluded that Aro had been right to obtain the specimen, not that he would outwardly acknowledge it. _Chelsea must bind the creature to them; such a tool must have its uses._ Then he saw his own struggles against Demetri, his teeth bared as his shoulders were drawn back.

Felix was alarmed by Santiago's reaction, trying to understand what had happened. Clearly the mutant held a weapon of some kind and Felix's fighting instincts were hastily analyzing what he'd seen. There were flickers of bloodstained sand, screams of the crowds, and a succession of doomed animals: panthers, panting and snarling as he gutted them; enraged bears clawing at his shield as his mace fell on their heads; bulls careering around the arena; whole packs of real wolves, far smaller than Seth, released at once, their pups collared and staked at one side, men armed only with small daggers at the other. None of his fights had been with anything as grand as Seth.

Demetri's view was blocked by the back of Edward's head and he was focused on keeping his grip on his arms. He was at once repulsed and amused by Edward's reaction to the examination of the mutant, and was reveling in the knowledge that he was hurting his shoulders. Perhaps Aro would allow him to pull them completely out of their sockets and make this fool - this arrogant fool who thought he had value - to understand who was really in power. Telepaths always had such over-inflated opinions of themselves.

Seth held Renata's attention. She concentrated, making him ignore her and Aro, but he stared straight back. Confusion whirled in her mind as she stared into his brown-gold eyes.

Aro was recalling conversations with a succession of men in togas, buildings in various states of construction in the background. Rome had been a playground for vampires in those days. After Didyme's death, the wives were kept "safe," and after he'd told Marcus she'd died at the hand of the Romanians, Marcus was only too happy to help defeat them. They couldn't be allowed to take over. Building up a power base in the provinces of Tuscany and Lazio was essential if the Volturi were to dominate the world.

He remembered the planning, the architectural drawings, maps, and campaign meetings he attended with Caius. They planned and oversaw battles and the rounding up of barbarians as slaves. They had all they needed: a plentiful food supply and finally the entertainment they loved best.

The newly-built Amphiteatrum Flavium thrilled the Volturi. There were quiet, private chambers underground where they brought the wounded, or merely unlucky for slaughter, and where the succession of puppet Emperors were invited to hold their own feasts.

Like children copying their elders, they ate food stained with beetles' blood and drank red wine straight from the skins, scornful of the frantic pleas and struggles of the prisoners and slaves brought for the true rulers of the empire. Aro loved the violent orgies and how they grew more bloody and depraved as the years passed.

Slaves had their throats slashed so that the vampires could feed, even as their human masters raped them and bathed in their blood, cheered on by the other revelers. No act was too extreme for these feasts.

Aro seemed to miss those days, and Edward was shocked. Carlisle had no idea any of this had taken place. Had they changed their habits by the time he'd joined them? And Marcus…

Finally Aro sighed and raised his hand. "Silence!" he commanded. The guards were stopped instantly, and their thoughts faded as they made the adjustments to block Edward out. He was still twisting in Demetri's grip, trying to bring his head around far enough to use his teeth.

"Let him go." Aro spoke without force, but Demetri treated it as an order and let him go. Edward slowly straightened, regaining his balance and rubbing his shoulders, sorely tempted to swing around and make a Demetri-shaped dent in the metal wall. Promising himself that the time would come, he forced his eyes away from Demetri's self-satisfied smirk to the more important matter of what Jane had done to Seth.

Jane and Alec both looked annoyed, and Renata had simply relaxed into watchfulness. Santiago was hissing through his teeth, tentatively flexing his fingers. Edward stared at Seth, who had pressed himself as far against the wall as he could. The wolf didn't seem to be injured and, to Edward's surprise, was still on his feet, despite Jane's glare.

_E- Edward? What's going on? I did what they said, but..._

Aro, realizing Seth was unhurt, said in a cheery tone to Santiago, "Describe what happened."

Santiago seemed confused. He looked up from his hand to Aro, to Seth, and then down to his hand again. "It was like electricity." His voice and thoughts both sounded offended. "My hand has pins and needles, and my fingers are not working properly."

Aro's smile widened. "Try again."

Santiago shot him an anxious glance and his voice was an octave higher as he responded, "Yes, Master." He stepped forward again, slowly raising his hand. Seth tried to move back away from him, his eyes shifting from Santiago's hand to Edward, who gave him a slight nod. Santiago's hand shook as his fingers came into contact with the wolf's fur. Santiago again jerked his hand away with a cry and his knees buckled as he lurched backward, reflexively hugging his arm. Seth stared at him as Aro turned to Jane.

"Now, Jane," he said kindly, "see whether you can do better this time."

The little blonde vampire looked up at him, happily. "Thank you, Master." She narrowed her eyes as she stared across at Seth. Apart from wrinkling his muzzle, the wolf didn't move. _She's looking at me very strangely. What's she doing? _Edward managed a small smile, relieved for the moment, but underneath more afraid than ever.

"It seems your gift has failed us. Pat the dog, my dear."

Jane looked round hurriedly, her former brightness replaced with a frown. "Master? Y-yes, Master." Slowly, hesitantly, she stepped forward and reached out her hand, but had the same reaction as Santiago.

"Edward." Aro didn't need to elaborate. He shouldered past Demetri and without hesitation walked across to the wolf. "You okay?" he asked, scratching Seth's ear.

Aro's laugh was gleeful. "This is wonderful!" he enthused. "He has no effect on you. I wonder why this should be."

Seth looked at him curiously.

"It hurts the others to touch you," Edward explained, "but not me. We don't know why."

From the doorway, Caius said, "Chelsea - bind him."

For the second time in a minute, Seth was under the intense gaze of a female vampire. Chelsea held her arms in front of her, fingers splayed, slowly turning her hands in twisting motions as she kneaded the air and narrowed her eyes. Then she dropped her arms. "It has no effect. I cannot bind him to you."

"He's no use as a guard dog, then," Caius said dryly, then turned to Edward. "You have a pact with the mutants."

"The Quileute people," Edward agreed. "Carlisle negotiated it when we first met them, about eighty years ago."

"He had no authority to make any deal with creatures that kill our kind."

"They are honorable. They've posed no danger to us, or to any of our kind."

"They have never killed any of our race?"

Edward hesitated. The Quileutes had killed vampires. Although it was hundreds of years ago, it was not long ago by Volterran standards.

"Edward?" Caius's voice grew colder.

"It was many years ago - they were attacked -"

"And on the plane coming here, this mutant was docile with you?"

Edward was desperate. It was clear where this was going, but he couldn't see how to stop it. "He was changing for the first time; he couldn't control it! Carlisle wouldn't—"

"You are allied with them? They willingly interact with you?"

Edward admitted, reluctantly, "They hate us."

_I don't, _Seth thought as he bumped his muzzle against Edward's shoulder. _What are they trying to do, Edward?_

"The Cullen coven is disloyal to our rule and our kind."

Edward turned to Aro who smiled at him, reassuringly. "Prove your loyalty, my young friend. Kill the mutant."

"No."

********%%%%%%********

**June - six months later. La Push**

Six weeks ago his daughter had been taken, the culprit vanishing without a trace, and in the past six months, Seth had also been kidnapped, and his good friend Harry had suffered a heart attack. Charlie had thought he'd reached his limit. He was wrong.

His shakes were starting to subside, but his face was still pale and clammy. Billy put the cup of sweetened tea back on the side table and pulled the blanket around his friend's shoulders. Charlie clutched at it with a shaky hand as he unconsciously rocked himself.

"B-be careful wh-what you wish for," he stuttered through chattering teeth, then gave an hysterical hiccupping giggle that triggered a fresh flood of sobs.

Earlier, Billy had tried to comfort him, but the chief wouldn't have any of it. The only thing he'd allow was Billy's hand on his arm, and he'd flinch whenever he would lay eyes on Sam and Carlisle as they watched anxiously from the kitchen doorway, which was as close as he'd tolerate them to be.

"A-and I was th-threatening to arrest you if-f you did-didn't tell me what was h-appening." The chief managed to force the words out through his gasping, self-mocking laughs "Veget-tarian vampires and w-w-werewolv-ves. In Forks. For Chrissake, you c-couldn't write this st-stuff..."

He'd arrived in his cruiser a few seconds after Carlisle, and strode across to where Billy and Sam were waiting at Carlisle's rental car, his moustache bristling. It was awkward at first, and they tried to persuade Charlie to leave so they could discuss the situation, but he wouldn't budge, and Billy couldn't blame him.

Then there was a momentary gleam of sunshine across Carlisle's face and a burst of rainbows. Charlie's jaw dropped.

**ooooo**

Two hours later, he sat in an exhausted stupor, eating soup, still huddled in his blanket and wiping the odd residual tear away with the back of his hand. Billy, Sam, and Carlisle sat in silence, allowing him the time he needed, watching sadly as he occasionally shook his head in response to some new thought.

"I always knew there was something, you know?" he mumbled, "Couldn't put my finger on it, but it was there." He closed his eyes tightly, and then opened them. "And you, Carlisle," he gave the briefest glance upward, shuddered, and looked down again. "Your fam... you were clearly different. I thought it was some rare medical condition," he said as his voice wavered.

Billy gave him a wry smile and patted his arm again.

Charlie carried on, as though he had to get his thoughts out now that he'd started. "And your boy. I've spent so long being angry with him for what I thought he did to her." He barked a laugh. "In some ways I don't know which is worse - what I thought, or what really happened."

"You don't have to do this." Carlisle said. "You couldn't know."

For the first time, he looked directly at Carlisle. "I hated him! I thought he just waited till her eighteenth birthday to - you know - persuade her to - to - and then dumped her." He drew in another shuddering breath. "I have eyes. I saw that something had changed the day after her birthday. He was so distant and she looked worried."

"Charlie, don't do this to yourself," said Billy.

"All that time, she knew about you and couldn't - she had to bear it alone. When she was still - still - upset a few weeks later I even asked her whether she thought she was pregnant." Charlie's voice increased in pitch. "She stared at me, and then started laughing and wouldn't stop. She had her arms wrapped round her, the way she always did then, and screamed and laughed. I nearly called for Gerandy." Absently, he wiped fresh tears away. "And your, your – Edward. Was he really just - your boy ...?" he trailed off.

"Yes," said Carlisle, "he was just a boy. Seventeen forever."

**0+0+0+0+0**

**A/N **

Cave canis = beware of the dog.

Quantum ille canis est in fenestra? = How much is that doggie in the window? I got this from a comedy book. It was the only time I ever impressed my Latin teacher.


	7. Chapter 7

The Count of Tuscany Chapter 7

Event Horizon

**Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. In the unlikely event you want to use any of this, please ask me first.**

**Irritable Grizzzly has done her usual fabulous job of making this legible. I owe her big-style.**

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

**Volterra – December - six months earlier**

_"Kill the mutant"_

"No." Edward's tone was flat as he looked levelly at Aro, feeling unexpectedly calm. More than ever before, he felt that he understood Carlisle. Being around the Volturi he could see for himself the barrenness of their lives; no true companionship or love, just corruption from boredom and almost limitless power. The idea of encouraging friendship with an enemy was alien to them and even with all eternity at their disposal, they'd never think to try. He'd upheld the treaty, even if no one ever knew.

Behind him, Seth's thoughts were growing panicky as he began to whine. He was watching Edward closely, looking for any sign that he would carry out the order, and wondering what to do if he did.

Caius hissed, but Aro returned Edward's gaze. Then his face lit up and he laughed delightedly, clapping his hands together. "Ha ha!" he crowed. "Isn't this wonderful, Caius? Our young friend is so like dear Carlisle, it quite takes me back to those years he spent with us." He beamed at Edward. "It was such a novelty for us, the monastic lifestyle we led during that time, but it seemed to please him."

Internally, Edward shuddered. _Monastic _didn't describe the memories that saddened Carlisle the most.

"You take after him so closely," Aro continued. "I do wish you could join us." He patted Edward's hand where it rested on Seth's shoulder, their eyes meeting again long enough for Aro to give one slow blink, and then he swept out of the cell, followed by the rest.

Edward frowned after them, once again disconcerted by the abrupt change of tack. Aro had gambled with Seth's life just to test Edward's reaction? Given their bloodlust, surely they wouldn't have intervened. Or, what if Seth had panicked and attacked, would they have stopped him? Probably, but only when they were sure he would lose, since they would take great pleasure in watching Edward kill him. Either way, it would have been the end of Seth.

_Have they finished with us? _Seth asked, tentatively.

"I think so." Edward turned to him. "For the moment at least."

Seth stayed still for long minutes, his thoughts a chaotic whirl of confusion and fears. _Did you know they'd just laugh if you said no?_ Edward shook his head. _Why did you do it?_

"I told you, I won't hurt you."

_Thank you. _Seth's mental voice was shy. He stayed by the wall for a few more minutes before moving slowly away, looking around the cell for the first time in his current form. He sniffed around the walls and corners before looking back across at Edward. _There are some smells that seem old. They've been here a long time, haven't they?_

"They've lived in Volterra close on three thousand years," Edward said, watching him circle the cell for a third time.

Seth huffed and sat down. _I'll need some more clothes. _Edward smiled, amused by his simple practicality. _And I'm getting hungry again. _He settled down on his mattress. _You don't know what's really going on, do you? _ Edward shook his head. _This isn't easy for you, is it, not knowing everything?_

"No, until now Bella was the only person who made me work to understand her._" _Edward ran his hand through his hair.

_You do that a lot, you know that?_

"And you ask a lot of questions, kid." Nevertheless, Edward put his hand down. "I don't understand why Carlisle hasn't come. He wouldn't allow this." He paused. "Alice must have seen some way out of this that doesn't involve him, and I just haven't figured it out yet."

Another thought came to him: What did Caius mean about the Cullens being disloyal? Where _was _Carlisle? The Volturi knew more about his family's activities than he'd realized, and clearly knew enough about the Quileutes to set up Seth's abduction and keep Edward off-balance. He couldn't figure how they knew so much. There had never been any sign of visitors or spies. Did they use one of the other telepaths? Why hadn't he heard them? Perhaps they had a wider range and were able to stay far enough away so he couldn't get a signal? Had the Volturi done something to his family while he travelled here? But all the guards were here, so whom would they send?

_But you're safe, aren't you? _Seth asked. _They want you._

"I think so," Edward said, "but Carlisle will be furious that you're being threatened."

Though he put up a good front, he was worried. What if Carlisle couldn't help? Edward glanced across at Seth, who wrinkled his brow questioningly. Would Sam assume the Cullens were involved in Seth's abduction? Although Edward's trail to Denali was some months old, could Sam follow it? Was there now open conflict between them? And was he the reason for that conflict?

Apparently he also asked himself a lot of questions.

Aware that Seth was watching, he willed himself to relax, recalling Carlisle in his study on one of the many occasions when Edward had gone to ask him for his help. He half-smiled when he thought about his life seventy years ago, when he'd been trying to adapt to the vegetarian lifestyle for the second time. Rain had pattered down the window and the trees from the neaby forest roared in the blustery wind. Carlisle had been perched on the corner of his desk, amber eyes sympathetic, his voice soft and encouraging. "Infinite patience is instantly rewarded, Edward," he'd said. "It is an odd universal paradox, but you will find it to be true. And as you become patient, your control will grow. Self-control does not bind us, it frees us. Unlike these humans, whose short lives you are driven to end, we have all the time we need to strive for perfection." He'd paused to give Edward his kind, unassuming smile. "Just don't make the mistake of assuming you'll ever achieve it."

Carlisle had also reminded him of this after Bella's birthday, when he'd first demanded they leave Forks. "You are too anxious for a quick solution. Your haste will not help you."

Bitter with the anticipation of loss, Edward had shouted back, "Your so-called patience - do nothing - let it all work out – plan nearly killed her tonight! She's not an experiment in getting my Zen on!" he'd railed at Carlisle, made angrier by receiving love and understanding in return. All he could feel was self-disgust due to his craving to feast on the blood that had poured from her arm. When Jasper had tried to attack her, yes, Edward had been defending his mate, but a part of him - a very powerful part - had also been guarding his prey.

She was better off without him.

He looked across at Seth. The kid was calm now, wanting to change back and hoping for clothes.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

They were sent for the following afternoon. All three Volturi were present when Edward, closely shadowed by Seth, entered the room. This wasn't the one he'd seen earlier. Like the marble chamber, it was circular with high windows, but the walls were the honey-colored sandstone from which the castle was constructed. It glowed warmly whenever the afternoon sun shone through. In the center of the floor was a round, cast-iron manhole cover. Edward recognized this room; the Volturi fondly referred to it as their "dining room. " Edward had seen it in Carlisle's vivid memories many times, although since Carlisle had never participated in the activities usually performed here, he was grateful not to have seen any of it. He hoped that wouldn't change.

Marcus, as before, gazed out at the sky, almost completely uninterested in everyone else in the room. Caius sat on his own throne, glowering down at Edward and Seth. Aro stood between them, hands clasped in front of him. The Volturi and their guard were all in their dark cloaks. Close to his side Seth shivered in his hoodie, even though he was running a high temperature. Jane kept casting him glances, Edward noticed, but they weren't malevolent; more as though she was weighing up something she'd never seen before.

Aro went to the front of the dais. "Ah, Edward," he said in a rueful tone, "your coven is such a source of problems for us. The issue with the girl..."

Edward began to speak, but Aro stopped him with a wave of his hand.

"Do not worry, my friend, we are not so foolish as to think we are at risk of exposure from a teenage girl; she would be considered delusional. Although she is culpable, as are you, I have already given my word that we shall not harm her, so her fate rests entirely in your hands."

_What does that mean? _he wondered, but he wasn't given time to think it over.

"Much worse is that your coven associated with dangerous mutants. Instead of destroying them, or informing us their existence, you concealed them, allowing their kind to continue to breed and be a source of peril," he said sadly, looking down at Edward. "We are fond of Carlisle; he means well but truly, Edward, what kind of example would it set if we allowed his coven to commit such transgressions? Others would challenge our authority and before we knew it, our society and culture would be in disarray."

"You're all aware of Carlisle's philosophy," Edward said, trying to speak confidently and in a way Aro would understand and relate to. "Had we brought you in to annihilate the tribe, questions would have been asked throughout the human nation. It would have left the possibiliy that the genetic quirk would resurface elsewhere in the world, with those affected eager for revenge. Keeping the main body of the mutants," here, he heard an indignant mental exclamation from Seth, "in one place is the best way to secure intelligence on their development."

"It was not Carlisle's role to make such a decision," Caius said. "He should have reported a find of this magnitude. Without our informant, the situation may have continued for many more centuries."

"Indeed." Aro's voice was little more than a thoughtful murmur. "Can you imagine the damage it would have caused had the Romanians heard of these mutants before we did?"

_Damage to whom? _Edward thought. He couldn't imagine the Quileutes would care which faction of vampires came along to wipe them out.

"And if all that was not enough, our informant has a third complaint." Caius looked toward the door.

Edward could hear a vampire approaching the chamber. The mind was oblique and evasive, hard to pinpoint, but the elusive thoughts felt gleeful, almost purring in their smug self-satisfaction. As the doors swung open and the vampire's scent reached Edward, his muscles tensed instinctively into a hunting stance. He'd thirsted to have this scent filling his airways. But under one, and only one, particular circumstance. And this wasn't it.

"Hello, Edward," the high, child-like voice said. "How wonderful to see you here."

"Ah, my darling Victoria." Aro said to her lovingly, as if to a child, and she simpered back. "We've been waiting for you."

Unlike the last time Edward had seen her, in hiking gear and barefoot with leaves and twigs in her hair, she was now as sleek as Alice or Rosalie at their best. Her hair was clean, waving down her back; her emerald dress was tight-fitting and short, her long legs enhanced by high stilettos. She was stunning, and Edward loathed the very sight of her. He almost shook with the effort of not flinging himself across the chamber to bury his teeth into her neck.

She joined Aro on the dais, clearly delighted with herself. From her memories, Edward picked up flashes of places he knew all-to-well: Forks High School, and in particular, the secretary's office; La Push, where she'd followed an unusual scent which led to Sam and a long chase away from the area; traveling north to meet Laurent; sitting in a tree while he recounted what the Denali sisters had told him of Alice's gift, Edward's gift, and the legends of the wolves.

She turned to look directly at Edward, showing him how she'd knelt by James's ashes, running her fingers through them as she wailed in her grief, swearing revenge on the Cullens.

She let him see her journey to Italy, gloating over the information Laurent had shared, and how she'd stood before Aro, pleading that he grant her justice, telling him the Cullens had provoked her mate, taunting him with a sweet-smelling human, and then murdering him for it.

She claimed Edward had told them the human was his mate, but he'd a lied; she'd merely been a toy, a momentary distraction. Laurent had told her how he'd tired of his pet after a few months and moved on. The murder of James was for nothing! As a final flourish, Victoria told him she'd returned to Forks just a few weeks ago to find a mutant fiend, a hellhound on the outskirts of the town, making it too dangerous to remain there; she'd barely escaped with her limbs.

Edward closed his eyes. Of course. It was obvious. Once Victoria found out about the Cullens and the Quileutes, what could be neater? Run to Volterra, tell all of it to Aro, and the Volturi would wipe out the Cullens and the wolves. Victoria could watch from the sidelines without risking a scratch. And if Bella survived, she was there for the taking. No need for any risks or elaborate schemes; just let the Volturi do what they did best.

He should have gone after her, and would have let Emmett take her down in Forks if he'd known. He could have hunted her after leaving Bella, not spent weeks moping and drifting.

_Shoulda, woulda, coulda, Edward._

At his side, Seth stirred. _What's happening? Who is she? Is she a friend?_

Edward gave a hard laugh. "No. Far from it. She's out to kill us all."

Victoria's gloating grew stronger as she heard what he said, recalling how she'd begged Aro to help her, and his interest when she'd told him of Edward's gift and how he'd used it to trap James. "A telepath?" he'd asked, surprised. "Carlisle has a telepath in his coven?" He'd paused, before smiling sympathetically. "My poor dear; I feel for your grief. He shall be summoned, to account for his actions."

Something was missing, Edward realized. Aro hadn't taken her hand. Why was that?

"So you see, Edward, you have given us much to consider," Aro said. Then he brightened. "But first, dinner and entertainment, I think."

"Heidi approaches," Marcus whispered to him.

Edward's attention shifted to the passageway outside, and his heart sank. "Seth," he said urgently, "over to the wall. Now!" Gently he pushed the kid to the side of the chamber, away from the door, listening as hard as he could and trying to quell his feeling of rising panic.

"What's happ—" Seth began, but Edward shushed him hurriedly, turning back to Aro. There wasn't time for dignity now; there was barely time to get out of the room before Heidi arrived with her catch. "Please let us out of here," he begged. "We don't want any part of this."

"Of course you may go, Edward," Aro said in a kind voice, and as Edward ushered Seth toward the door, he added, "But not the mutant. He stays."

Edward stopped, as a pulse of hatred shot through him. So this was the reason for the charade in the cell the previous day. Test their growing friendship, and then break it. Seth realized it at the same time.

_Yes, my friend, _Aro's thoughts projected at him, _this is the start of your punishment. A little reminder of who holds the power here._

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

A/N

Thank you to everyone who's reviewed. I hope I've replied to you all. There was one lovely message from someone who wasn't registered, so I was sorry I couldn't say "hi" to her.

Thank you all for reading and to those responsible, for egging me on.

Anne (with an E)


	8. Chapter 8

The Count of Tuscany

Chapter 8 - Cydonia

**Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. In the unlikely event you want to use any of this, please ask me first.**

To our cousins Down Under – I mean no disrespect – you are fun, kind and wonderful. I'm dedicating this chapter to **Hidemyhead** and the reason for that dictated the nationality of some of the characters.

KT: I hope it's enough.

What can I say about Irritable Grizzzly? Actually lots: a scary, frightening, petrifying, terrifying, exacting, anti-apostrophe-abuse campaigner who sorts out my mistakes to convince you all that I can do joined-up writing and proper speling and not to make sentences run on forever and ever until they get way too long so you feel like they're never going to stop for a break.

She's wonderful and I'm so glad to be part of her team.

8888888888

"Are they going to eat me?" Seth asked.

"No." In other circumstances, Edward might have found the question funny, given the unappetizing scent of the wolf's blood. "They want to see what you'll do when they attack the humans."

Seth's breath hitched and his pulse increased. "Don't leave me," he begged, his thoughts frantic. "Edward, you can't go!"

On the dais, Edward could see Aro smiling, Caius looking disgusted, and Demetri grinning widely. He felt helpless and angry, and they knew it. He turned back to Seth and gripped his shoulders.

"Please, understand. I'm already thirsty and I can't take the chance." He didn't care that he was pleading; he had to get out of that room. If he smelled the blood, surrounded by enthusiastically-feeding vampires and tasted it through their senses ... They'd do all they could to tempt him. They'd done it to Carlisle, causing him to flee the castle many times in those early years. "Just - just stay in the corner. Don't look, don't listen, and especially, don't phase and try to fight." He looked Seth straight in the eyes. "These people are dead already; they just don't know it yet. You can't save them, do you understand?'

For long seconds, Seth looked at him, his expression concerned as well as frightened. Even in his distress, Edward was amazed to hear thoughts of compassion in the kid's mind - thoughts far more mature than they'd been two days ago. This growth spurt had aged more than his body, it seemed. "I hadn't understood what you'd meant about it being difficult, but you're really scared, aren't you? That you'll kill someone."

The guilt Edward had experienced on the plane and in the cell was nothing compared to how he felt now, leaving the kid to face this nightmare alone. He couldn't hear any blame in Seth's mind; he was trying to persuade himself he'd survive this without Edward's help. From the dais he heard a single chuckle. Hot fury shot through him and he looked up to see grins on several faces. He returned their gaze with a stony glare, knowing they were playing him again.

Could he do it? If he held his breath, kept his mind on the thoughts of the prey rather than their murderers, and concentrated on keeping Seth safe? Carlisle had always said the trick was keeping the right focus. Now Edward was going to get a crash course. If he failed, well, his soul was damned anyway.

"If you see me …" _turn into one of these monsters " … _slip, stop me. I'll do everything I can not to hurt you." Seth nodded, face pale and clammy. "Now, we stay in the corner and keep out of it." Edward had little faith this plan would work, but he was out of time.

Heidi was leading five humans down the corridor: four male and one female, all in their late teens. "This is a new themed attraction based on the legend of St. Marcus." She indicated paintings along the corridor walls. "These tell how he drove the vampires out of Volterra, making this the only city in the world where the streets are safe from vampire attack."

Edward heard a snort from one of the humans—Brett, he identified— an Australian who was unimpressed with this amateurish attempt at a tourist gig. "What a wank! We fly all the way overseas to observe some vampires and we get ripped off with this shonky work." He grinned down at the girl he held to his side. "Hey, Mols, tell the guide. You want to see vampires, don't you?"

Molly giggled. "Yeah, we got Buckley's of seeing them back home. Too bloody sunny."

"Don't worry, you'll see plenty of vampires soon." Heidi blinked away the remains of her blue contact lenses as they dissolved in her venom and turned to smile widely at the humans.

Brett fell back a step as he caught sight of her now-burgundy eyes, an inexplicable sweat breaking out down his spine. Edward heard the jolt in his mind as he took a heartbeat to recover his cool. "Oh, I read about those LCD contacts last year," he said condescendingly. "And you forgot your fangs. You don't scare me, mate."

_Liar!_ Edward thought.

_But I bet you do other things, _ Brett continued in his thoughts, letting his eyes wander up and down Heidi's body. _I'll bet she'd be up for a root, if I could get Mols out of the way. _ Seeing his look, Heidi returned his smirk.

Seth's quick ears had caught some of the voices. "They're close?"

"Just stay behind me, put your fingers in your ears, and close your eyes," Edward whispered back. He heard a low laugh from Felix.

Demetri shot a thought at him. _ I did suggest we call our little enterprise "Vulturey Tours" and pretend it was a typo, but Caius felt it lacked class. Pity. _He drew his cloak aside as he sent Edward another thought. _I dressed for dinner. _ His T-shirt showed two vultures in a tree; one bird was saying, _"Patience, my ass, I'm gonna kill something." _He let his cloak fall closed again and winked at Edward.

"... of course you can try out the coffins," Heidi said as the doors swung open and she ushered the humans into the chamber. They stood in a bunch just inside the door and looked around them, clearly puzzled and a little disappointed.

"Guests!" Aro called to them in ringing tones. "Welcome to Volterra, friends. Come, circulate among us. As you can see, we're all gathered here to feast on you."

Two of the youths grinned and snickered, nudging one another.

"You see that one?" said a lanky, surfer-blonde named Thomas, pointing at Aro. "With that cloak, he looks just like the Star Wars evil dude." In the voice of the character "Palapatine," he croaked out, _"You will join us, my young Skywalker..."_ Neither of them noticed Aro's glare.

"And him," someone else said, indicating Caius, "he looks just like Grindlewald"

_Bloody tourists_, Demetri thought at Edward. _No manners._

"What about him, Sy?" a guy named Thomas asked, looking at Marcus. Edward could hear them running through characters in movies and TV series, each trying to come up with an apt nickname. _Shut up! _ he willed them.

"Got it! He's the a dead ringer for Todd from Atlantis - y'know, the Wraith." They both cackled. "But he was, like, a realistic-looking space vampire; way more scary."

"This is bullshit," Brett muttered.

Next to him, his cousin Niall was looking at the chamber in a different way: evaluating, Edward realized. He'd seen Heidi's complexion up close and now looked with keen eyes from one vampire to the next.

_Their faces are all too perfect,_ he thought. _They don't look like real people. I've never seen anyone with faces like these. You might get one or two model-types, but not a crowd all together. It isn't makeup either, _he told himself, _and it's certainly not animatronics. I don't get the stuff with the contacts; their eyes are different shades of red. _ He looked across at Edward. _He looks worried, and his eyes aren't red. Never seen anyone with yellow eyes before. But he still looks like a walking statue. What the hell are they? And that kid _- here, he looked at Seth -_ he's the only one who looks real and he seems downright scared. _

The connections suddenly formed in his mind like tumbling dominoes, and his survival instincts kicked in. Adrenaline flooded his system and his heart sped up. Every vampire in the room turned to look at him. "Oh, shit," he whispered, staring transfixed at the numerous pairs of crimson eyes. He pulled at Brett's sleeve with a suddenly-shaking hand. "We gotta go."

"Good idea," his cousin replied in a sneering tone before looking at Niall's face. "Hey, coz, they haven't spooked you, have they?" He laughed aloud. "Come on, man! They're just actors."

"They haven't done any acting."

"So, they should rehearse more." Brett laughed again. "You're such a tosser."

Edward heard a sudden resolution in Seth's mind and put his arm in front of him. "Seth, don't! You can't help them."

The humans looked over at him. "See," Brett said, "they're starting now." He sauntered forward, shaking Niall's hand off his arm.

"Victoria, my darling." Aro indicated in Brett's direction. Victorial smiled and inclined her head before stepping down from the dais.

"Nooo!" Seth protested, pushing past Edward's arm. He came to a temporary halt as Edward grabbed the shoulder of his hoodie, but then started forward again as the seam ripped. He tried to run, but Edward got a better hold and stopped him. "Get out of here!" Seth yelled, struggling. "They'll kill you!"

Niall dashed forward and tugged at Brett's arm, horror now showing on his face.

Brett was still laughing. "Overacting, much?" He waggled his hands in the air in mock terror. "Oooh, I'm so scared. Grow a pair, Niall, this is pathetic." He brushed his cousin's hand away and turned back to Victoria.

Seth shook. Edward heard his heart rate increase and the tenor of his thoughts change. "Don't, Seth!" he shouted into the kid's face, trying to distract him before it was too late. "Hold it together!"

Victoria giggled and took another step forward. Seth whirled, leaping. There was the now-familiar silent burst as he transformed in midair. He landed on all fours between the humans and the vampires, with Edward close at his side. For a few brief seconds Seth's growls were the only sounds filling the air.

"Woah, dude!" Simon said in total admiration. "That was fucking amazing!"

"How did they do that?" Molly said.

"I've seen better at Disneyland," Brett scoffed.

_I like this guy, _thought Demetri, _maybe I'll just change him._

Victoria stared at Seth, mouth open, trying to work out whether he was the same wolf she'd seen in Forks. Edward grabbed a couple of handfuls of fur and tried to drag Seth away. The wolf stood his ground.

_I won't let them harm the humans. _Seth snarled, pulling his muzzle back to expose his long, sharp teeth. The fur on his neck bristled.

"You can't help them." Edward felt desperate. "Just, _please,_ get over to the corner."

Behind him he heard, "Isn't he one of them? Why's he talking to the wolf-thing?"

"Must have forgotten his lines."

Seth briefly swung his head to give Edward a disbelieving glare._ I have to try. I can't help it. Get out of my way, Edward._

Brett was circling Seth, cautiously glancing up at him. Doubt was creeping into his mind, but he wasn't about to freak out in front of the others.

Simon yelled to him, "Hey, Chewie, you great walking carpet, let him by!" Thomas subsided into belly-laughs.

Edward could hear Brett wishing he hadn't said that. He was closer to Victoria now and he thought the way she looked at him was - disconcerting. The way his cat looked at frogs. Sweat had broken out on his back again. _Perhaps Niall ... no, _he thought, _they'll be using sub-sonics to creep us out._ _And those two idiots Thomas and Simon, are high-fiving one another behind me. _

Seth gently shouldered him back. Brett had just enough time to think that the wolf felt real and warm and - alive - before everything descended into mayhem.

At a signal from Caius, Felix and Santiago somersaulted over Seth's head, aiming for Molly and Niall; Demetri ran toward Brett, but Victoria spun, siezed the vampire by the shoulder, and flung him at the wall. Demetri laughed and shrugged his cloak back into place. Victoria made a grab for Brett as Seth hurled himself at her, teeth bared.

He thumped his side into Brett, who fell over with a cry. Edward tried to get to Seth first, to stop Victoria getting in a blow or bite, but the wolf was fast. He sank his teeth into Victoria's forearm and shook her. Victoria screamed. Demetri gave Seth a solid punch to the ribs and registered a lightning burst in his hand. Seth yelped and let go. Edward sprang over Seth's back, tackling Demetri and sending him skidding into the wall for a second time.

Thomas shrieked, and Seth whirled to help him as Felix hoisted the teen into the air by his neck. Victoria ignored her mangled forearm and sprinted toward Brett, her lips drawn back over her teeth. Paralyzed in confusion, he didn't try to move and made no sound until her teeth sliced through his carotid. He gave a long, bubbling scream, struggling too late as she held him to the floor. Blood spurted past her cheeks.

Edward staggered, disoriented, as a torrent of impressions swamped his mind. There were scarlet eyes, stone-white faces, and glistening teeth stained with blood. Terror, disbelief, glimpses of loved ones; the sickening icy slicing of teeth through flesh; the almost scalding contrast of blood gushing across the cold; a sudden warm rush as bladder control was lost and then the acrid urine stench that accompanied it.

Wham! Edward cried out as a blow landed across his shoulders, splintering his shoulder blades and the bone in his upper right arm. It was swiftly followed by a series of powerful kicks behind his knees, and he fell to the floor.

"That was payback for the plane," Demetri said.

The damage to Edward's body repaired itself almost instantly. He sprang up high, momentarily hanging by his fingertips from the rough stones near the ceiling where he was able to survey the room. Chelsea and Afton moved toward Seth as he defended Simon and Thomas. One of the youths was screaming loudly, the other unmoving, tears pouring down his face. Caius was bent over Molly's struggling form; Niall was almost hidden by Sulpicia and Santiago. Over on the dais, Aro was flanked by Jane and Alec, watching calmly with a small smile.

Edward pushed off from the wall and landed in front of Seth. The humans were almost mindless in their terror now and their mental hysteria beat at him, weakening his concentration. Afton grinned and faded away like the Cheshire Cat in front of Edward's eyes. Disoriented and startled, Edward drew in a sharp breath.

The overpowering scent of sweet, throat-soothing nectar filled his nose. He clenched his fists as his venom started to flow and his focus shifted to the drumming of rapidly-beating hearts. He spun, moving toward where Victoria was stooped over Brett. All he could see was red; that life-giving color calling to him. He crouched, ready to spring and steal Victoria's prey.

With a sickening crunch, he was flung to the floor, four leaden weights on his thighs and shoulders, as a fetid stench abruptly pulled him back to reality. Seth had him flattened and was deliberately breathing into his face. _Snap out of it, Edward! _he ordered silently, and was away before Edward could reply.

Around him was laughter, and then a shadowy form threw itself across Edward's vision. There were cries of pain from both Afton and Seth, but then came the sound of snapping ribs accompanied by the hot scent of bruising flesh. Edward hurled himself across the floor, seizing Afton's head and pulling him away. The blow didn't seem to have slowed the wolf down; he was everywhere, leaping from one vampire to another, teeth snapping and slicing.

Edward dodged, punched, twisted, and threw, trying to ignore all else, keeping his eyes focused on only the unending series of attacking forms. All the while, the horror in the humans' minds assaulted him. They were beyond thought now, simply a mass of panicking screams that tore and bloodied their throats from the inside, even as the vampires' teeth closed in from the outside. From the vampires he heard curses from the bolts of pain whenever they came in contact with Seth, but it didn't deter them for long. His head rang and pounded with the bedlam.

Dimly, he realized someone was calling Seth's name.

_What is it, Edward? I'm busy here. _Even Seth's thoughts were panting.

Edward quickly glanced over to the wolf, but this left enough gap for Felix and Demetri, working together, to launch a joint assault on him. They ran straight at him from opposing directions, crushing him between them. He could feel fissures down his chest that leaked venom before swiftly closing. Felix got an arm round his neck and was pushing Edward's other arm up his back in a classic arm lock. Edward resisted, pressing the back of his wrist into the small of his back as hard as he could while he clawed at the arm round his neck.

Demetri smashed his hand down onto the side of Edward's right knee, shattering the bones and ripping his ligaments. He roared as pain shot through him, but with his uninjured leg he pushed off from the floor to flip over Felix's head while holding onto his forearm and dragging it behind his shoulders. He heard the popping of the shoulder joint and Felix's yell before an elbow sent him careering back.

Aro looked to where Victoria still knelt over Brett's feebly-squirming form and then over at Edward. He steepled his fingers, then parted them in a flourishing gesture.

All the vampires in Seth's vicinity moved away, creating a corridor that led straight to Victoria's back. Seth saw it instantly and leaped forward. Edward was at his side, his head still ringing from the mental bombardment, uncaring for the moment what Aro had planned. All he saw was that he was being given a chance at payback for her lies. He spared a quick glance at Aro who inclined his head, for once looking solemn; then they were on her.

Once again, Edward heard someone mentally calling to Seth and dimly wondered who was trying to distract him. The wolf ignored it as he sank his teeth into the nape of Victoria's neck and shook her in the way a puppy shakes an old slipper. For a moment she dangled from his jaws before she pulled down, tearing her shoulders but giving herself enough leverage to send her right leg backward, placing a jabbing blow with her heel into the center of Seth's chest. He gave a winded yelp and let go. As Victoria spun round to face him, the red of Brett's blood shockingly red against her white face and hands, Edward tackled her, and the force of his attack carried them across the chamber and into the far wall.

Now that he had the opportunity he'd lusted after, Edward wasn't going to waste it. He knew he was fast; he'd always been the fastest of his family, and now he was letting go of any pretense of being civilized. He hammered at her with his fists and bit every last inch of exposed flesh he could see, gouging out chunk after chunk and spitting them away before going in again.

He punched, kicked, cracked bones, and twisted limbs. Totally oblivious to the retaliatory damage Victoria was wreaking on him, he knew only that he would win. For every bite she took, he tore two slabs of muscle from her; for every blow she landed on him, he made three. He left no room for Seth to participate. Their venom poured from dozens of wounds as they fought on. The pistol-shot cracking of breaking bones and the screeching of tearing sinews and muscles rang deafeningly round the room. Their bodies, and the floor around them, became slick and slippery with the thick venom syrup, causing blows to skid across flesh, but Victoria had lost more than Edward and she was slowing. Then, she misjudged a feint and left her neck exposed. Edward stepped in and sank his teeth into her.

It was over.

He allowed Victoria's head to drop from his fingers and then looked up. The room was almost still. The teenagers' remaining screams were weak as, one by one, they fell silent, reflex muscle spasms the only sign that any of them still lived. The quiet _drip, drip _of venom from his fingertips was the only other sound. His shoulders slumped; he already felt weakened and knew his eyes had turned black with thirst. He needed to hunt, and very soon, to recoup the energy of his healing.

Seth was beside him, confused and panting, trying to keep his eyes on every vampire at once, ready for the next attack. _You killed her. You killed her. _His thoughts were chaotic, full of distress that the humans were beyond help; that he'd failed, and that he and Edward were totally outnumbered, both of them injured. The shrieks and screams from the humans filled his mind as he saw the attacks over and over. In the cacophony of his thoughts were images of Edward trying to protect him, images of home, of Sam. His ears rang with the sounds of screams, voices calling to him, the teenagers' faces and the hubbub of the last few minutes. Stronger than all these was the instinct to hurl himself at the vampires around him, and his muscles tensed, ready to respond.

Aro gestured to Felix, Demetri, Afton and Santiago, and they stepped forward and adopted hunting crouches before launching themselves at Edward.

Seth bolted and got in front of him, snarling and bristling. Demetri and Santiago took him on, kicking and punching but not biting. Seth was everywhere at once, twisting and leaping, snapping at arms and heads, sandy-furred death.

Edward tried to fight Felix and Afton. In the few seconds of the lull after he'd defeated Victoria, many of his wounds had closed, but he no longer had the strength for a sustained attack. From occasional glimpses of the battle next to him, it was clear that Seth was making his impact, but he was young, inexperienced, and outnumbered. Santiago gave a crushing blow to his head that left him stunned and tottering. He fell. They rained more blows down on him as he lay there.

Then all four joined in on Edward and he tumbled to the floor under their combined assault. Once again, the stone flags were coated in venom, almost all of it Edward's this time. His bones were broken and reformed time and again; joints twisted, and still the beating continued until he knew nothing but the constant battering.

When it stopped an eternity later, Edward could barely move, barely think. Everything seemed broken, and he felt as though white-hot knives had sliced through every part of him. He opened his eyes, but his right one registered only darkness.

Seth laid close-by, barely conscious, vaguely aware that Edward was near and taking a little comfort from that fact. From the corner of his vision, Edward saw Jane tuck Brett under her arm and carry him off to one side of the chamber, nodding at Alec to join her.

Purple smoke drifted over, but he couldn't turn his head to see its source, though he supposed it must be Victoria. In a detached way, he realized his thoughts were slow, plodding almost, constantly dissolving in his weakness and pain.

He had just enough strength to move his left arm; his right was almost detached. Carefully, gingerly, hissing through his teeth, he dragged himself the few inches across the slimy floor, just close enough to touch the wolf's fur. He couldn't see how badly hurt the kid was since there was plenty of blood matting what was visible to him. Seth must have some accelerated healing to last more than a split second against a single vampire, let alone two, so for him to be floored must mean serious injury. Edward knew that the guilt from this day would stay with him forever. All he could offer for the moment was kinship.

"Seth," he whispered, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you."

Two golden-brown eyes half-opened.

Edward could see a vague image of himself in Seth's mind, but it was growing more indistinct by the second. He was whimpering and shivering. _My mom... _

"I'll tell her."

_Thank ... friend._

Somewhere, and it seemed very far away, someone still seemed to be mentally calling his name, urgent and afraid, but that faded as Seth's eyes closed again and his mind drifted away.

Black fabric swished across Edward's view, lifted clear of the venom on the floor. "Yes, that was Victoria," Aro said, as though Edward had asked a question. "Had she taken my hand, she would have realized I knew she lied. Carlisle would never have behaved the way she described. I do not tolerate such stupidity in our kind." He crouched down to look into Edward's face. "And here we must part ways also, my young friend."

Edward opened his mouth, trying to form words, but could only manage a weak, "Why?"

Aro laughed softly. "Do you think I am so naive that I would have you join us? You are too dangerous; we cannot have you here, picking up our stray thoughts_." _With that, he allowed his mental barrier to melt away. _ You have been here only a few days and already you have learned too much. You saw Didyme when I destroyed her, did you not? I cannot have you be a party to such knowledge, nor force your loyalty. Chelsea's bindings will never quite take; you telepaths hear too many different minds and it breaks the conditioning. You all develop ideas to undermine us in the end, and have the wherewithal to learn exactly what you need to carry it out._

"No!" Edward's voice was no more than a croak. He tried to look up, to lift his hand to Aro's to assure him, but his arm was too heavy to move. Aro's eyes flicked momentarily to Seth. The kid was now fully unconscious and Edward could hear the usual soft rustling sound as he changed back into his human form.

"Please..."

Aro straightened and turned away, gesturing to someone outside Edward's field of vision.

Edward closed his eyes and only one person's face came to mind. He would never see her again. _Oh, Bella. _

"Get rid of the filth," Aro said, and then everything went dark.

Jenny Bentley had worked as a personal shopper at Harrods for twenty-two years. She was well used to the eccentricities of the unfathomably wealthy, so the Cullen family's list of rules didn't seem odd to her. If they insisted that a different personal shopper be assigned for every visit, then so be it. To some it may have seemed excessive that any personal shoppers who had previously accompanied the family must not be in the store on that day, but to Harrods' staff this was not unusual. Nor was their insistence that no assistant must approach closer than three feet unless specifically invited or have any skin abrasions. The list went on.

To Jenny, Miss Cullen was a dream customer. She was polite and friendly, wanting to see all the store had to offer, and spent freely. Her companion, Mr. Hale, was quiet but affectionately attentive, although he often wandered away on his own errands. While Miss Cullen was in the Writing Room, he was examining gloves in the men's section.

Miss Cullen was choosing a new fountain pen as her father's Christmas present, chatting with her like an old friend, when she froze mid-word. Jenny recalled Mr. Hale's abrupt appearance at her side, a concerned frown on his face. Then Jenny experienced a whirling confusion followed by grief so intense it left her sobbing on the floor.

She found out later that she was by no means the only one struck down; many of her colleagues were sent home inconsolable over something they couldn't name. Indeed, almost everyone in Knightsbridge had felt something. "Mass hysteria," the broadsheet newspapers called it. "Attack of the Dementors," screamed the gutter tabloids.

Whatever it was, it had seemed to come from outside of her, and afterward she could never rid herself of the notion that it had originated with Miss Cullen. She never told anyone what she thought; after all, a truly professional personal shopper never discloses details about her clients.

000000000

A/N

Thanks to Hidemyhead for the Australian translations.

Buckley's = Buckley's chance = no chance. Buckley was an escaped prisoner who lived off the land in a particularly hostile area of Australia. The authorities gave up on finding him alive. Later, in Melbourne, there was a department store called Buckley and Nunn. The pun, I'm told, was too good to miss, so passed into the vernacular.

"Up for a root." Do I really need to explain this one? I suggest you ask She-Viking about carrots.

Todd from Atlantis – for the non-nerds, Christopher Heyerdahl played Marcus in New Moon. He was also Todd, a space-vampire-type alien in Stargate Atlantis. I couldn't resist.

Grindelwald – Jamie Campbell Bower played Caius in New Moon. He is also Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm calling "Turpentine!" on this because I've had to confess so often. I was going to put Malfoy as the character resembled by Caius because of the white hair, having totally forgotten about JCB. It was Irritable Grizzzly who pointed it out and it's had more comments than any other aspect of the chapter. I put in all this hard work and she gets the laughs.


	9. Chapter 9

COT Chapter 9

Endlessly

**Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. In the unlikely event you want to use any of this, please ask me first.**

Please give a big hand to Irritable Grizzzly, without whom I'd be in a total mess.

Katinki, Kassiah and Frozen Soldier : thank you so much.

**0O0O0O0O0O0**

Dark.

Silent.

Empty.

Nothing.

Nothing

Forever nothing. The nothing had lasted for a very long time.

Pressure.

Discomfort.

No, not discomfort, pain.

Sheer agony.

Vices tightening on all those broken bones?

Thoughts and images exploded around him ... above him? The castle, the city, rooms, night skies, traffic, faces.

Where was he?

He was in utter darkness.

There was no air.

He couldn't move.

At all.

The pressure crushed him from every direction. Some of it was even and - smooth somehow. Mostly it was tight and bruising, if he could be bruised.

He wasn't dead. Wait. Was he? Would final death be this painful? Or was this reserved just for vampires?

He focused on whatever it was that was crushing him, trying to determine what it was.

_I'm in chains._

He should have been able to break chains - even ones that seemed to cover him from neck to foot - with a flick of his elbow, but he was immobile, lying almost straight, enveloped.

Something held his eyes closed. Something covered his face, filled his mouth, his nostrils, his ears and felt like a cap against his scalp. He couldn't breathe. Whatever filled his mouth and throat felt gritty against his tongue and tasted sour and sharp. It pressed on the back of his throat, threatening to trigger his gag reflex, but he couldn't move enough even for that. The stuff was sharp in his nasal passages.

_They've encased me in concrete._

Abruptly he recalled the excavation in the courtyard and a niggle of fear bubbled up inside of him.

The prolonged assault had cost him dearly in both venom and energy. Broken him, weakened him, and rendered him helpless. There was no chance of him breaking his chains and digging his way out and now he could heal only very slowly.

He could hear, although sounds were muffled. There were rumblings and murmurings; the tread of feet and groaning of the ground around him as it settled. Thoughts bombarded him. It seemed most of the Volterran vampires had dropped their mental shields and this frightened him more than anything else. He'd expected them to kill him, but they hadn't. If Aro felt secure enough to leave him alive and able to hear everyone's thoughts, how long was he planning on keeping him buried?

A hundred years?

A thousand?

How long before the chains rusted and the concrete crumbled? Would they let him out? Was this done to frighten him? He had to admit that it was working.

Carlisle and Jasper had both tried to starve themselves and Edward had heard their memories: the overwhelming thirst, the weakness, the waning of their mental faculties. Carlisle had sat at the bottom of the sea, but at least he'd seen an occasional fish; Jasper had been able to breathe and see the sky. And they'd had the choice to stop.

Edward panicked, his torn muscles convulsing. Since the concrete had no give, the contractions reflected inward, muscles cramping around his broken bones. There was enough air in his lungs for one small, muffled groan. He tried to wriggle, to move something, just - anything. They'd known only too well what they were doing. His spine was twisted just a fraction, enough that it ached. The chains around his knees were pressing against his shattered kneecaps in just the right spot; enough that they couldn't quickly mend and reattach to the cartilage.

He and Carlisle had both studied the human form and become familiar with every joint and ligament to understand how to heal. It seemed the Volterran vampires were also experts but applied their knowledge in causing maximum discomfort.

He went inside Alec's mind as he walked across the courtyard to the tower with Aro who was congratulating him on a job well done. It turned out that Alec had used his "gift" on Edward for five hours to rob him of his senses until he was safely imprisoned. He heard the sound and vibration of their footsteps, the swish of a cloak - and the faint crunch of gravel underfoot. Then Aro's thoughts came through.

_I know you can hear me, but it will not last. An eternity without her, am I not right? That was your greatest fear? Consider it granted. I have conveyed your farewells to your coven. _He chuckled aloud.

Terror swamped Edward. He wanted to scream, he wanted to weep, he wanted someone to rescue him. He hadn't felt so weak in a hundred years. The lime-burn in his nasal passages tormented him, the concrete in his throat permanently gagging him. It was made worse by his rapidly-increasing thirst as his energy drained. He couldn't stand it! He'd been here for only a short time and he would lie here forever, trapped, suffocated, aching to the center of his being and totally heartsick. His bones were knitting together so slowly, he could almost feel each cell attach itself to the next.

_Carlisle, Alice - please!_

Was there a way out of this? As he struggled all he could achieve were repeats of the spasms and cramps he'd had before trying to move. Still, feeling every last shard of shattered bone was better than lying there thinking about how he could have been in Forks. His family could have protected Bella - and Seth.

Seth!

He searched through the minds around him and felt some relief. Seth was alive and back in his cell, asleep. After their ordeal he'd probably been exhausted. Seth had been in a lot of pain from his injuries, but he wasn't too badly hurt. The Volturi was surprised and amused by his recovery. Santiago had stunned him and he'd had many gashes and bruises, but no major bones broken. Of course, in a normal human the damage would have been terminal, but Seth was anything but normal for a kid of his age.

He'd also pulled from Alec that before summoning Seth and Edward to the dining room, Aro had given the order that Seth be kept alive for testing. The wolf would be a useful instrument of both entertainment and execution. Aro's thoughts taunted Edward. He considered, after a trial period of course, holding Seth hostage for the use of Sam's services against other covens, perhaps the Cullens themselves, musing that it would be an interesting test of Carlisle's restraint.

_Yes, Edward_, _I know you're listening, but don't waste your energy. Your power will fade as your thirst grows, and I shall be sure to make no decision about your coven until long past that time. It is far more difficult not to know, don't you think? At least, your predecessors thought so. _Then the smooth wall came down over Aro's thoughts again.

If he'd had enough breath to scream, he would have. He lay, despairing, as the world went on around him.

From time to time he heard church bells ringing half-hour and hour, the intervals between them seeming far too long. Traffic rumble increased, then died away again; the chatter of passing humans came and went. Through them he saw the external castle walls, the streetlights, the warm lights in the trattoria nearby. He listened to the talk from the vampires around the castle, moving from one mind to another. Many of the vampires didn't know that something had happened; most didn't care. News of the wolf spread, but after a few hours Edward's name had ceased to be in anyone's thoughts. Aro kept his mind silent.

He tested the range of his hearing and once again plunged into panic. Just ten miles, far short of the area he usually covered.

Seth woke hungry as usual and wept alone and frightened in his cell. A woman came in with his breakfast and he asked her what happened to Edward, but she ignored him. He was confused as to why they'd either ordered Edward to leave the castle or killed him, since he recalled how the Volturi had wanted Edward to join them. As he ate, he called out mentally, _"Edward? Can you hear me? Please don't leave me!"_

Seth waited for a visit that never came, starting at every small noise. He was angry and distressed over the deaths of the teenagers and his inability to help them, but surprised he didn't feel more disturbed about the damage he'd inflicted on the various vampires; however, at this point he figured it must be an innate part of him. Edward's attempts to defend him from the others left him feeling humbled and his turn, Edward felt touched when Seth thought of what he'd say to his family and Sam if they ever said anything bad about the Cullens again. Eventually he went back to sleep.

Time passed. Thirst grew.

Edward heard the patter of rain on the courtyard flagstones and felt rain on the faces of humans scurrying for cover.

He saw the ebb and flow of visitors to the castle, human and vampire. Over and over he became the humans outside the walls, bustling about their lives, oblivious to the nest of vipers a few feet away.

He let his mind wander down memory paths he used to travel before meeting Bella. He thought through the years of his existence since Carlisle turned him, then through every book he'd read, every movie he ever saw, the good and the bad. Then over and over he played every second of his time with Bella, pretending he was still there with her. Their first trip to his meadow, he'd watched every step she took. That afternoon had been a series of best points in his life, topping each other over and over. When he'd walked beside her for those few hours he'd been content. It had been more than he'd ever dreamed he could do. When she hadn't fled as his skin betrayed his nature under the bright sun, he'd thought he couldn't have been happier; as she'd run her fingers along his arm ... and let him kiss her, however briefly... his wonder had grown.

_"An eternity without her."_

He heard the earth flex as the sun came out and dried the ground. He felt its warmth, winter-weak, on the faces of humans walking by.

Seth slept much of those first few days, despite his fears, and later grew bored. To Edward's surprise, Jane continued to supervise his meals and loitered in his cell, welcoming the diversion from her normal routine. She was intrigued by this strange wolf-boy. He was clearly not a true werewolf, and although in her mind he was inferior to vampires, he was an interesting object. She also felt a grudging respect that her gift didn't touch him.

His thirst grew until it seared his throat. Tentatively, fearfully, every day Edward tested the limit of his telepathy. The circumference of his range was rushing inward, faster and closer each day. He could barely hear outside the city now. Over and over the fear crashed into his mind. When he could no longer survive by seeing and hearing others' thoughts, how would he stay sane? For how long? _And do you want to?_

He heard the particles of grit skitter across the ground, blown by the wind as it pushed against the humans, bustling them along the narrow streets and alleyways.

Once again he relived each moment of his time with Bella, from that first glimpse in the cafeteria right through to the feel of her forehead under his lips during their last goodbye in the forest. He loitered over each second, forcing himself to keep it all in real-time. He remembered watching movies with her, one of which he'd quoted, murmuring into her hair, "Death cannot stop true love; all it can do is delay it a while." She'd wriggled in his arms, claiming his breath tickled her ear. Later she'd laughed and said, "I should get a T-shirt that says 'Edward Cullen is only mostly dead.' " He'd thrown her in the air, then caught her and swung her around just before she hit the floor, pretending to attack her and bite her neck in retaliation. He'd said, "There's a big difference between 'mostly dead,' and 'all dead.' "

Every time he reached the scene in the forest, he returned to the beginning and went through it all again.

Bells pealed louder and in greater numbers. He'd been anticipating this all day. They were calling the faithful to Mass on Christmas Eve.

Edward attended several of the church services that night, the world's lonliest ghost flitting from mind to mind. Solitary and still, he felt like the seventeen-year-old he once was, bereft of his loved ones. His prayers were fervent: for Bella's welfare and happiness, for his family's safety, for Seth, for Sam, the Quileutes, and finally for himself. He begged for a release from his torment, one way or another, and internally sobbed.

Time passed. New Year's came. Time passed.

The world had now shrunk to a few hundred yards from the castle. The burning in his throat swamped his mind most of the time. Even as he looked through others' eyes, the world seemed aflame.

At least he could still read Seth's mind. He was fully healed but bored beyond measure. Jane brought him books and a television, and Edward read the books and watched TV through Seth's eyes.

The night grew quiet, with few humans awake. Had there been more he would never have heard the shocked mental exclamation outside the city. In Italian a man thought, _Mother of God, I see one! _Startled and curious, he listened for the source of the thought. Wider and wider he forced his mental net until he heard more, this time followed by a vocal outburst. _There! The creature's on the castle tower!_

He had it pinpointed now. On a hillside, beyond the city walls, he found two men, one of them hurriedly and angrily shushing the other._ "Nico! Silenzio!" _

Nico whispered apologies to a man he called "Professor" who was looking through binoculars at Aro on the top of a tower as he gazed down upon the sleeping city. Then he looked through another device - a thermal imaging scope. Edward's mind reeled; Aro's figure glowed ice-blue against the warmer yellows and oranges of the city.

Nico continued to stare for long seconds before looking down at a camera, adjusting it, cleaning the lens, and then quickly updating software on the computer to which it was attached. He was afraid he'd been heard and hurried to finish his task and get away to safety. In horrid fascination, Edward saw brief glimpses of lectures and briefings; meetings in which uniform-clad men and women, all grim-faced, talked at length with robed men with signet rings some knelt to kiss. _Cold ... blurringly fast ... exceptional hearing and eyesight ... _

Edward lost them as they drove away. Frustrated and angry, he reached out as far as he could, but caught only a mental murmuring and the word _Monseigneur_.

So the military was studying vampires. Aided by the Church.

He searched his memories of the past few weeks but there had been no hint in any human mind about this, and even though most vampire minds had been closed to him, he was certain they were ignorant of it as well. The usually careful Aro standing out in the open was evidence of that.

For a while he was distracted from his own predicament. It wasn't hard to guess why this was happening now. Aro and Caius had been well-known to humans millennia ago, and the Church leaders had long memories. Until recently remote observation and identification wasn't possible, but with modern technology it had been only a matter of time. And here was the irony: had Aro left him free, he could have told him.

The world had changed in an instant. With their technology, humans could detect the atmospheric composition of planets light years away; if they were using similar instruments on any vampires they came across, what had they learned already? If the Italian military was studying Volterra, had they shared the find with other nations? Were others looking, too?

He struggled uselessly as despair swamped him. Whatever the humans decided to do, he knew that military minds focused on offensive/defensive capabilities and how to destroy. Sooner or later, they'd want to test both. He, Jasper, and Emmett had often discussed what kind of mess a potassium-coated armor-piercing bullet would make of a vampire. This was always assuming said vampire didn't hear the bullet coming and flick it back at the human who fired it. One evening, Emmett had insisted on testing at least part of it, having Jasper shoot him with an uncoated round. It took the whole night to find all the bits and pieces of his shoulder, making them late for school the next day. Emmett had complained so loudly that Mrs. Cope heard. She said he looked pale and tried to send him home sick. Considering vampires were quite pale to begin with, and a human noticed it, that was saying something. Esme was so angry she'd nearly torn his arm off again.

For almost all of history humans had been the weak ones, the prey, either unaware of the immortals in their midst or helpless to stand up to them, but now ... they had science. He might be the only vampire in the world who knew they'd been discovered, and he couldn't tell anyone.

More than anything he wanted to warn his family, to help them make plans to keep them safe. If the news broke to the public, what would Bella think? Would she try to find him? That's when it hit him. If it was discovered the Cullens were vampires, the military would quickly deduce she knew and take her in for questioning. Lying imprisoned and unable to protect her, it was difficult to imagine that they weren't already knocking on Charlie's door, arresting her and taking her away. He tortured himself with visions of them mining the depths of her knowledge and possibly injecting her with drugs to make sure she told all she knew.

For days he wallowed uselessly in his anguish, more angry with himself than he'd ever been. Although he'd never wanted to join the Volturi guard, he'd been convinced his gift would be invaluable to Aro. That he'd be seen as a dangerous liability never crossed his mind. Now he mentally screamed at himself for his hubris.

To make him feel worse, Aro sent for Seth again. He wanted sport and had a transgressor to deal with. Jane went to fetch him.

As Seth followed her on shaky legs to the dining room, he was wishing Edward was with him. He'd frequently asked what had happened to Edward and was appalled when they'd told him to forget him. He'd wept for days, filled with guilt and mentally apologizing. "_Edward would have been safe if not for me,"_ he'd thought. Edward longed to explain just how far off the mark he was. It was he who could never make enough amends to Seth for getting him into this mess in the first place.

Jane explained that Aro wanted him to dispose of a vampire. If Edward could have found any amusement in the situation, he'd have laughed at Seth's attitude. He felt that as long as it wasn't anyone he knew, which basically meant those who refrained from drinking humans, he was almost upbeat about it. Even Edward thought it strange it didn't bother him, but like Seth he also assumed it was genetic conditioning. When Aro gave a hand signal, Seth was to phase and attack.

In the dining room Edward looked through multiple pairs of eyes. The intended victim, Tomas, had hunted too openly and frequently in Glasgow sparking off press speculation and wild theories about the murders. Not only that, but Tomas had allowed police and witnesses to get glimpses of him, often waiting until the last possible moment with his victims before he escaped. Twice he'd been described to the police as having "disappeared" before the horrified witnesses' eyes.

Aro grandly censured him before the assembled court, savoring each moment as he described Tomas's crimes against the vampire world. Tomas was only sixty years old, but he knew the rules and was terrified, looking for a way out. Aro gave him a choice: immediate annihilation or besting the human boy in a fight.

Tomas grinned. He couldn't believe his good fortune. "I will fight the boy," he said.

Seth phased and stood shaking his fur as Tomas stared, trying to make sense of what he'd just seen. Then he backed up, still unable to take his eyes off the wolf. As Seth crouched ready to spring, there was a burst of mental noise. _It's Seth! He's here! Seth, can you hear us? It's Paul. Jared, go get Sam. Seth's phased! He's here!_

_Good Lord, a group mind_, Edward thought, fascinated. Through Seth's own thoughts he could feel how these new voices held similar resonances

Distracted, Seth paused. _Paul? Where are you?_ He looked around the room as if he thought Paul was there. His hesitation gave Tomas time enough to attack. He almost got his arms round Seth's ribs before the wolf reacted. He was nimble, performing a wriggling, twisting leap that freed him with just the loss of a few clumps of fur. Tomas eyed him, trying to work out how best to take him on but wasn't allowed time enough. Seth's next leap flattened him and although he kicked up until they both rolled, Seth tore out the socket of his right shoulder and then aimed for his knees. After that, he simply tore off chunk after chunk as he and Paul exchanged information.

Edward listened intently. The wolves hadn't given up on Seth after Sam witnessed their fight in December. There were now five of them and they'd done shifts to keep at least one in wolf form 24/7, hoping Seth was alive and would phase again. They knew he was somewhere that had many vampires, but didn't know where it was.

_I'm in Italy in a town called Volterra. It's Vamp HQ. _Memories of the plane ride flicked quickly through Seth's mind.

_And Edward? We saw..._

_He tried to help me! I don't know where he is. I think they've ... _Seth whined as he tore into Tomas's abdomen.

_We know. We've been trying to contact Dr. Cullen but we don't have any idea where he or the rest of the Cullens are. Did Edward tell you anything about their whereabouts?_

Edward swore to himself. It hadn't occurred to him to mention Denali or the family's home in Chicago. _A lot of things didn't occur to you, you idiot._

Tomas was beyond movement now. Paul fell silent as Seth stepped back and looked up at Aro, who clapped. "Well done, mutant. That was most entertaining." Alec stepped down from the dais as Jane waved Seth back. Within seconds, the remains of Tomas were aflame and Seth sneezed as the sweet smoke filled his muzzle. Recognizing the scent, he wondered sadly whether it had been Edward's burning he'd smelled earlier.

"Take the mutant back to his cell." Aro gave his instruction to Jane as he and his entourage swept out of the chamber.

Time passed; weeks, Edward supposed. He could see little now. There was only the flames; the burning. It centered in his throat but he could feel it throughout his body. When he caught others' thoughts, they often made no sense to him; lucidity came only occasionally. He thought he'd heard Seth phase again to provide more sport for the Volturi, and that Sam had traveled to Italy. He hadn't been able to get close enough to the city to make any attempt to plan a rescue because there were too many vampires and they would have detected him. Edward wasn't sure whether he'd heard this or imagined it.

Sometimes he thought he was going through the change from human to vampire again and that Carlisle would be waiting for him when it ended. Or was it Bella being changed? Had he bitten her? Had Jasper? Had her mental silence ended and he was living the change with her?

His telepathy was almost gone. It was like watching the guttering stub of a candle. He embraced the dying flame with all his will, trying to hold onto it for just - one - more - moment.

Now his universe was a black flame in his head. All he had was a wail of misery to keep him company. Endlessly he went through his ritual of recalling every moment with Bella. He felt the rumblings of the traffic, the shifting of the ground, the minute seismic movements caused by nearby construction work, distant earthquakes, the lunar cycles, the faraway tides.

Again he went through his memories of ... of ... her … she was ... human. What's a human?

He recalled his family, but couldn't remember their names.

There was a face. With brown eyes.

Time dragged on and on.

And a scent of flowers.

Centuries? Millennia? Eons?

She would be long gone by now.

He felt sand blowing through his soul.

His mind fell.

Down.

Down.

Down into the gibbering darkness.

0O0O0O0O0O0O0

If any of you are feeling relieved Seth's still around, you have Irritable Grizzzly to thank for it. She pleaded for clemency. I was going to tear him to shreds. Just saying.


	10. Chapter 10

The Count of Tuscany

Chapter 10 – Assassin.

**Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. In the unlikely event you want to use any of this, please ask me first.**

Irritable Grizzzly has had her work cut out on this chapter.

Thank you again, Katinki, for the recs. I still can't believe it.

**oooO0Oooo**

Hopelessly, I'll love you endlessly  
Hopelessly, I'll give you everything  
But I won't give you up.

_Endlessly - Muse_

**Five months later – May**

When cold hands and stone arms had siezed her in the parking lot of the Thriftway, for a few overwhelming, heart-burstingly joyful moments Bella had thought it was Edward come back for her. Then she'd realized the scent was wrong, and the eyes were red instead of gold. She felt so crushed by disappointment that it overrode fear. That didn't last long.

The two vampires who'd abducted her, Heidi and Demetri, had given her one warning: cooperate or they'd kill every human they met, starting with a side-trip to the police station. Knowing the power and quickness of vampires firsthand, she'd nodded jerkily and silently gone along with them.

Other than frightening her, they hadn't mistreated her. On the contrary, they'd been coolly polite, making sure she was comfortable in her well-padded seat in the private plane, offering her any kind of food and drink she could want. As if she could have eaten anything.

The vampires had made no secret of their destination, Volterra, and Bella had kept quiet, not sure what they knew. They'd told her Aro had asked to make her acquaintance, and she shouldn't worry; he had no wish to frighten her. It was only when she'd asked about the Cullens that they had refused to answer her questions.

Now she stood before Aro, trembling and with unnoticed tears on her cheeks; he took her clammy hand in his cold one, speaking softly to her, and then looking at her closely. His welcoming smile briefly turned into a frown, but then it cleared again and he seemed almost amused. Then he stroked the back of her hand in what she assumed he thought to be a kindly way and said, "My sweet Bella, neither I nor any of my Court will harm you. Nevertheless, I must be sure you fully appreciate your responsibilities."

She had no idea what that meant, but nodded anyway. At least they said they wouldn't hurt her.

"You must be tired after your long journey. I have arranged for accommodations tailored especially to your circumstances. Let us settle you in, my dear." Then he lowered his voice and said, "I'm sure you'll find your stay," he paused, "educational."

**.oo0oo..oo0oo..oo0oo.**

"This room is for you," Aro said, ushering Bella past him. Tentatively she looked from Aro's face, to the room, and then back to him again. He was still smiling. He'd smiled at her almost non-stop since she'd arrived, as though to reassure her. It wasn't doing any good. In fact, she was so frightened she could barely think, waiting to be told what to do and trying not to move, not to make any sound.

The room was unexpectedly bright and sunny. On either side the walls curved away. She assumed this was one of the castle turrets, and judging by the glimpse of sky and rooftops she could see through the open French doors, very high up.

"Make yourself comfortable."

She turned to look at Aro, and the door beside which he stood. It was thick oak with old-fashioned cast-iron hinges. Once locked, it would certainly keep her in, but she didn't expect it would keep any of them out. For the umpteenth time since her abduction, her heart rate suddenly sped up and her breathing grew ragged.

The apartment smelled like a new building, which seemed odd in a castle turret. When Charlie had poured concrete for the new carport for her truck, the smell was similar: sharp and clean. What had Aro meant when he said the room was tailored for her circumstances? Surely they hadn't done this just for her.

The walls of the room were naked stone, a soft honey color, and it all seemed surreal, clashing with her fear and confusion.

Through the open windows Bella could hear the city traffic, but other than the soft swish of the curtains, the room itself was silent. Her breathing sounded loud and raucous in her ears, and she stood still, trying to control her rising panic and take it all in. For some reason she noticed there were fashion magazines on the coffee table, and a thought seeped into her terrified mind that Alice would have approved of this added touch.

Over by one wall was a bar alongside a huge flatscreen TV with satellite and other gadgets. On the shelves were rows of DVDs and CDs.

To Bella's left, she could see a doorway to what was clearly a kitchen with a black slate tiled floor and new appliances

Somehow she found the newness of it all more intimidating and sinister than if it had been a dungeon.

To her right, another doorway led to the bedroom.

"Look around, my dear."

Taking this as an order even though she wanted to stay by the wall, Bella tiptoed forward and looked around, wondering what Aro wanted from her. Why was he hanging around?

Slowly, she crossed to the French doors. The scene was bright and cheerful, the surrounding countryside beautiful and green. The balcony overlooked a courtyard in the center of the castle, five floors below. There was no one in sight. Another tower jutted up to her left. Bending over, Bella could see that there were no other balconies below her. The tower fell sheer to the courtyard.

Once again Bella panicked. This must have to do - with - _Him_ - but why had it taken this long for the Volturi to send for her? They could have come for her at any time. Why now? Why at all? They could have silenced her in an instant back in Forks without any of this.

What did they want with her?

Turning away from the bright cityscape, she went back into the apartment to find Aro still standing there, smiling.

"It - it's all very b-beautiful." She was trying to be polite, still not knowing what he wanted from her. Then Aro inclined his head, but seemed to be looking past her, toward the far sofa. Bella turned to follow his gaze.

It was then that she saw something on the floor. It was grey and dusty, like rough-cut stone. Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her head from side to side, trying to make it out. It seemed out of place in this pristine set-up.

Glancing at Aro and then back again, she took a step forward. As she got closer she could see what looked like the back of a half-worked statue on its side. It seemed well-proportioned with broad, square shoulders and long, lean back-muscles, but it was far from complete. It looked like the sculptor had tried to smooth and polish it, but left other areas unfinished and chipped, covered in gritty gray dust.

Then she saw the back of the statue's head. There was a wild shock of hair… a long, elegant neck … and as she stared, a breeze made the statue's hair move, shaking off some of the gray dust. She didn't need to see the bronze to know she'd run her hands through that hair a thousand times. Didn't need to look twice to know it was the neck she'd kissed, and that those broad shoulders were attached to muscular arms that had held her as though he would never let her go.

Time came to a halt as Bella stood, trying to take it in, a roaring sound in her ears, her heart pounding, her breathing becoming ragged.

Edward lay on the floor, covered in gritty dust and what appeared to be stone chips. What little remained of his clothes was torn, creased, and stained with something that looked like rust.

"Edward?" Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

He didn't move. No sound.

Bella took another step, calling his name again.

Still no reaction.

She'd completely forgotten Aro. All she could see was _him_. He was still, his eyes closed, giving no sign of having heard her. She was confused. Vampires didn't sleep, so what was this? He couldn't be – be – _dead_. She knew what it took to "kill" a vampire. His head, thank God, was still attached, and he wasn't burned.

Bella stared, drinking in every tiny detail, yet not understanding what she was seeing. He was disheveled and dirty, but seeing his high cheekbones and low-bridged nose reminded her of his beauty, and she ached for him.

She knelt beside him and gingerly touched his shoulder. "Edward? Can you hear me?"

Slowly he opened his eyes, turning his head in her direction, and she slid her hand under his cheek to turn his head. Her heart thudded as her breath came in gasps, the realization sinking in that he was real; really here with her in this bizarre setting that made no sense. If she'd ever allowed herself to daydream that she might see him again, she would never have imagined a circumstance like this. Her brain could only acknowledge that he was here. _Here._ She couldn't think past that, although fear wasn't far away.

She turned his head more and he looked at her now. Bella had never seen his eyes so black. They were like two holes bored into his head. Around his eyes the circles were deep purple, almost black themselves. His skin, normally translucent white, had a gray tinge. He appeared thinner, wasted somehow. Even his eyelashes were coated in the light powder that covered him, whitening them. She could smell it on him now. The smell of a new building. The powder dusted the floor around him and felt rough against her palm. As she moved him, she heard the loose chips pattering onto the floor.

"Edward, what happened to you?"

He slowly lifted his arm, gently taking her hand and cradling it. Still moving slowly, so slowly, he moved her hand up to, and across his face, running his nose along her wrist. The gesture was so familiar it tore at her heart. He breathed in deep, closing his eyes.

"Ohhh." His whispered breath was long and low as he moved his head back and forth across her wrist.

Edward opened his eyes again and looked up at her with a small smile. Bella smiled back, joy welling up in her. Just seeing him, seeing his angel's face, the familiar grace and beauty of his movements, almost hurt her with their familiarity, but she wanted this. Needed this. It didn't matter that he'd left her, that he didn't love her. He was here. That was all that mattered, never mind the surreal circumstances.

She smiled wider, but then she looked into his eyes and felt a rush of coldness as sweat broke out on her forehead. His eyes held no recognition, no coherence, no awareness; just blank madness. Then his lips drew as he smiled up at her.

That's when he struck.

In the unreality of the situation it seemed to happen in slow motion and it was almost sensual the way he opened his mouth and sank his teeth into her right wrist, the universe contracting to the point where his lips met her arm. She watched, eyes wide, for what seemed like minutes, unable to process what was happening. Then the world crashed in on her and time sped back up. For a second she felt the burn of his venom and screamed in shock, automatically trying to jerk her wrist away. She was partially successful before he used his razor-sharp nails, raking the skin from her forearm as he clawed her wrist back to his mouth, the pain of tearing flesh replacing the burn.

She could feel the drag of his icy lips and tongue. "Edward!" she screamed, still struggling. Again, she nearly freed her arm, only to gain more tears to her wrist. She beat at him, bruising her fingers as waves of nausea shot through her from the cold, sickening, sucking feeling of him drinking from her more and more urgently.

"Stop! Please, stop!" was all she could scream, time and again. If he heard, he gave no sign.

In her panic and from the loss of blood, the room spun, and she could see nothing other than her arm, his face, blood, and shredded skin. Behind her was a gleeful cackling that she barely registered. Against her arm, Edward was laughing happily, a carefree sound that only added to her confusion. She pushed and tugged wildly, but he just swatted at her.

When a blow from his flailing fist connected with her temple, she'd never seen it coming. Just a momentary flash of white, and then she began to drift into unconsciousness.

The cackling continued, clashing in her head. Nearby there was a sudden noise, a rough screeching roar, but she didn't care. She was tumbling, whirling, falling over and over, lost in a roiling ocean. The world lost its gravity and spun round her. The laughter stopped and now she heard voices, how many she didn't know. There were musical tones and hard, deep, guttural ones; a sea of angry or fearful voices. Her body seemed to be moving without any will, twisting and rolling, just like the spinning in her mind.

**0O0O0O0O0O0O0O0**

Edward had always loved the sound of the sea.

Although it was far away, indistinct, he heard it now as he lay on the dark shore, its steady tempo soothing him. He was content to lie here, forever bathing in its sound, getting louder as the tide came in, filling his whole being.

He luxuriated in it until it saturated his every cell and his body resonated with its beat.

And then the melody began.

He searched for her, breathing in deep. Instead of the fresh tang of the sea, the scent of flowers hung heavy in the air. He lay in her arms in his meadow – their meadow - in full bloom as the sweet air filled his lungs. He sighed. He'd been ill, he knew. Maybe it was the influenza that was affecting so many people. He wasn't sure and it didn't matter. He would be all right now. She would make him whole and strong.

She heard him and murmured to him, words he couldn't understand. She fed him. Delicious nectar, ambrosia, pure life filled his mouth, and he gulped eagerly. There was light around him, bright and golden. The Siren song filled his head with fireworks and rainbows, flowing out into the universe to become the symphonies of the stars, novae and galaxies. Her essence thrilled through his body and still she fed him. His strength was building; he was no longer helpless. Greedily, he absorbed the life-force and a wave of comfort flowed over him. He laughed. He was home, and he could lie in her arms forever, content simply to be with her, here in his meadow.

He wasn't the only one happy. There was mirth around him, but it sounded a little different. Happy, but … mocking somehow.

The laughter jarred with the harmonies of Her song, so he tried not to hear it. Then a room came into his vision, but it was not his meadow, so he tried not to see it. He wanted to lie there forever, but the picture of the room was intruding, growing stronger. Colors were bright. There was a voice; he wasn't sure where it came from. It sounded gleeful but cruel. _"Her fate rested in your hands, Edward."_

Irritation crept in. She was all he needed. She was beautiful and life-giving and he reveled in her presence.

The mocking laughter clashed in his head.

Again he drank the elixir of life, turning his head as the angle of the source shifted.

In the picture of the room he saw movement. A head turned. Then there was a weight across his body; something silken sweeping across his face. The flowers, beautifully fragrant freesia, poured out their scent.

The world twisted and the two viewpoints suddenly aligned. The fantasy faded away and he knew exactly where he was. Aro's mind was openly gloating that his punishment of Edward was almost complete and it was even better than he had imagined. He would soon drain the human and then beg for destruction when he realized what he'd done. Maybe, Aro thought, he would take pity and grant the request.

Human?

_I'm a vampire, drinking blood._

_It's not nectar, it's blood._

_It's not music, it's blood._

_It's HER. BELLA!_

He screamed, a choking sound, and the laughter stopped.

**ooo0ooo0ooo0ooo**

**A/N**

Thank you so much to whoever nominated this story for the Tomato Soup awards. I'm stunned that we're up for 4 categories: best Charlie, best character (Seth), best summary and the Jelly award for the story that leaves you wanting more. I'm thrilled and so is Irritable Grizzzly. I'm not saying please vote for us (though that would be lovely), but please vote for someone and make her day.

Ok, hands up all those of you who want Summit to use Muse's "Sing for Absolution" for the headboard scene in BD. Let me see … one, two, three … … eighteen nineteen …

Right, so that's everyone except you two in the third row. C'mon Summit!

And who wishes that they'd filmed the wedding scene a la Princess Bride, with Peter Cooke as the Impressive Clergyman going "Mawage, a dweam wivin a dweam … togeva foweva" and Rob getting the giggles? I'd pay double for the outtakes alone.

Some of you might have seen the fake teasers I've posted on Twitter. CindyWindy asked me to do one for this chapter involving Bella, a hard hat and a jackhammer in the courtyard, so I did. Any requests for chapter 11?

Thanks for reading.


	11. Chapter 11

The Count of Tuscany

Chapter 11 – Sing for Absolution.

**Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. **

**In the unlikely event you want to use any of this, please ask me first.**

This chapter was held up due to technical difficulties – technically, it was crap and I had difficulty with it. The airwaves between the Fire Swamp and the forest wherein dwells the Irritable Grizzzly have been scorched by the level of internet traffic.

Joking apart, if you could see the amount of work she puts in on these, you'd be sending reviews to her, not me. This story isn't mine, it's ours.

…**ooOOOO00000OOOOoo…**

_"Lips are turning blue, a kiss that can't renew. I only dream of you, my beautiful. _

_Tiptoe to your room, a starlight in the gloom, I only dream of you and you never knew."_

**000**

There was a noise, faint at first. It was a harsh, dragging, grating noise that repeated over and over, eventually accompanied by a pounding thud. The sounds grew louder as a familiar rhythm developed and she realized that she was hearing her own jagged breathing. The thudding centered on a dull pain in her temple, an ache that felt as though her head would split.

A gravelly voice said, "Thank heaven. I thought I lost you there, Love." There was warmth on her forehead as someone stroked her hair. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Other senses were returning. The acid stench of vomit all but drowned out the smell of her blood, and she tried to turn away from it when the skin of her shredded forearm screamed red-hot agony, and she cried out. Her whole body was shaking uncontrollably, her breath shallow and gasping. She felt sick, cold and clammy. The only relief was from warm hands on her face and shoulders.

Nausea overwhelmed her again and as she retched, someone held her head, wiped a warm cloth over her face, and held a cup of water to her lips.

She was too tired to move. She couldn't speak, and even her eyelids were too heavy to open again. Instead, she merely lay on her side while slow thoughts passed through her brain and she drifted, half-dreaming. She remembered Edward, the image of his teeth as he'd sunk them into her arm. Would he attack again? Had someone stopped him? How? She'd never realized before how much energy it took just to speak, but she finally managed to lift her head with a slurred, "WhezzEd'ard?"

There was no reply. With a ton of effort, she half turned, and it took her bleary vision a few moments to focus. Edward was sitting on the floor, bending over her, his hands on her shoulders. For the first time since she'd met him, he truly looked like the undead. His beauty was still there, but now it was corpse-like.

He'd gotten rid of most of the gray dust, but his hair was still bleached of color, dust still clung to his lashes, and his irises were almost black. There were chalky grayish streaks across his face as though he'd hurriedly washed it, but a darker streak stood out along his jaw line. A part of her feared him, but her overwhelming emotion was pity.

Whatever had gotten him to this state must have been extreme, yet somehow he'd stopped his attack and despite his current condition, was still practicing the same restraint. She stared, horrified, for second after second as her brain slowly took in what she was seeing.

His hesitant smile faded and he looked away.

"Wha' happened t'you?"

He turned back to her, his expression severe and harsh. "Punishment." His usually beautiful voice was like the grinding of broken glass.

He looked at her throat and swallowed convulsively, then turned away again. "Rest."

The next time she woke up, she felt comfortable and warm. She'd actually slept soundly without dreaming, but she supposed that was the result of her exhaustion.

She was in bed, covered by a blanket, and there was music playing, some classical piece turned low. Her head still ached and just looking around made her feel dizzy again. Several small bottles of water and cartons of orange juice stood on the nightstand and as soon as she saw them, she realized how dry her throat was.

With an effort, she elbowed herself up, and then leaned back into her pillows for a few moments, breathing heavily. With her left hand she picked up one of the bottles and although it was small, it felt heavy and her arm trembled as she lifted it. She hugged it to her a moment, summoning her strength.

"Drink in sips. You need to rehydrate slowly," Edward said from a distance. She saw his shadowy figure in the doorway and could just make out his face; he still wore the hard, angry expression she'd seen earlier. When their eyes met, he looked down. "I'm sorry. I'll never be able to apologize enough. I didn't..."

His hands tightened into fists and he turned, almost fleeing toward the balcony and, she assumed, the fresh air.

"You need to stay away from me, Bella." His words hurt, even though she hadn't expected him to be pleased to see her. "Drink!"

She lay back against the pillows, resting the neck of the little bottle against her lower lip and sipping as weak tears steadily made their way down her face and into her hair.

A few minutes after she finished the water she tried the orange juice, but it stung her throat, made raw by her screams. Feeling dull and numbed by exhaustion, she dozed.

When she woke, she could see brightness round the half-closed door. Her forehead tingled and the unmistakable scent of Edward hung in the air, mingled with another, more familiar, everyday smell - hot buttered toast. A plate was on the bedside table where the empty bottle and carton had been. She nibbled, taking her time, lethargy slowing her thoughts.

She must have slept again because the light had changed. For a few minutes she simply lay still, taking in the fact that she was sleeping without nightmares, and then gradually realized she needed the bathroom.

At first she felt too groggy to move but eventually she sat up, wobbling a little as one leg slid over the side of the bed, and it felt as though someone had turned gravity up a notch. She rocked, tenderly, holding her bandaged arm to her chest as she slowly peeled back the covers, noticing she was wearing an unfamiliar T-shirt, and her jeans were gone.

Suddenly, Edward was in the doorway.

"I - need the bathroom." She managed to stand, but her head swam and she immediately dropped back down on the bed.

"Do you need help?"

"Please." Her voice was little more than a weary whisper.

Edward walked slowly over to her, keeping his gaze averted and holding his palms forward as if to show he had no weapons. Like before, his face was set hard, his lips pursed as if he was trying not to speak. Still, he was gentle as he helped her to her feet and supported her across the room. His touch was warm, and it made her recall the warm hands from earlier.

"Why don't you feel cold?"

He gave her a half smile. "I warmed my hands over the stove."

He'd clearly showered; the gray dust was gone and he was dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. The physical signs of his punishment, whatever it had been, were all washed away, but he looked gaunt, starved.

"What did they do to you?"

He shook his head and she continued to study him as he wound his arm around her waist and half-carried her to the bathroom.

"What about your family? Alice?" Were they here, too?

"Don't know." He lowered her until she was perched on the side of the bathtub, and then he was gone.

Bella stared at the doorway, shocked, as questions slowly formed in her still-sluggish mind. She knew _why _Edward had been punished; he'd explained the laws only a few days before he ... he'd left, but she thought that Carlisle and the Volturi were friends.

She'd brought the Volturi wrath down on Edward and his family. Did he hate her now? Had he just been following Carlisle's rules when he didn't finish her off? He'd always said he didn't want to be a monster, but she'd brought him only trouble from the first day they'd met. He looked so angry, his expression so hard and ... haunted? What was he hearing from others in the castle?

Back in bed, she huddled miserably under the covers.

When she'd been on the run from James, Edward had planned to take her away, and the thought of being locked up in a room with him had seemed like her idea of heaven. Now, it seemed like hell for both of them.

Seeing what they'd done because of her, she could understand why he'd wanted to leave her. He was right; she wasn't good for him. She'd nearly destroyed him and – with this thought a cold sweat broke out all over her body - she still might. It wasn't over yet.

It hurt too much; she didn't want to be bad for him.

Again she drifted off to sleep and dreamed she was in the forest, fear twisting her gut, a hole in her chest tearing her apart, the nothing waiting there to suck the life out of her. Edward stepped out from the trees, smiling, skin shimmering as he held his hand out to her. But as she ran to him, he got farther away, and when she called out, her voice made no sound.

"Come to me, Bella," he said in his loving, musical way, and she wanted to tell him she was running as fast as she could, but again she choked on her words.

That's when she saw the huge wolf slinking up behind him. Its attention was entirely on Edward as it stalked toward him, muzzle drawn to reveal its enormous teeth. The faster she ran, the slower she got as Edward just smiled at her, never moving, and the scream froze in her throat as she tried to warn him.

The wolf sprang, sinking its teeth into Edward's shoulder. He didn't fight or try to push the wolf away, but his smile faded. "Oh, Bella," he said in a way that broke her heart, just as the wolf engulfed him.

At this point her voice returned and she screamed, "NO! Please don't hurt him!" and stumbled forward. Then Edward's soothing voice came from far away, and she immediately calmed. "My Angel…"

Bella stayed in bed the next couple of days sleeping, or, more accurately, passing out from the exhaustion of simply being awake. Whenever she awoke, there was fresh food and drink nearby and Edward's scent in the room as though he'd just left.

She understood; he was avoiding her. The scent of her blood must be driving him to distraction. When she'd first found out about him, she'd looked up blood loss and its effects. She'd once asked him whether he might be able to just have a taste. Suddenly he was fifty yards away, staring at her with a mixture of fury and horror for long seconds before he said, "Are you out of your _mind_? D'you think I could just sip and _stop_?" He'd stayed there for several minutes, his hair taking the brunt of his agitation as he tried to get calm.

Yet, he had stopped. Twice now. This time under circumstances she couldn't imagine.

They had one brief conversation: she in bed, he in the doorway constantly glancing toward the French windows. She learned that Edward and Seth, the kid who'd disappeared from La Push, had been in Volterra since December and that Seth was in a cell or a dungeon somewhere below one of the towers. The Quileute tribe had a secret - they transformed into vampire killers - werewolves - and this had happened to Seth. She remembered her former friend Jake. She'd barely seen him since the previous year's Prom, and she wondered whether he'd transformed too.

Edward's replies were cautious. At first she thought it was simply because he was trying not to breathe her scent, but then she realized he was filtering the information, and her stomach twisted with an odd thrill that she still knew him well enough to see this. It must be important. She could do this for him - help him - play along. At one point their eyes met and she gave a small smile and a brief nod. Edward blinked, and then his expression softened, but the moment soon passed and the bitterness returned.

She didn't bother to ask why Aro had brought her here; Edward's dark-circled eyes and her bandaged arm were answer enough.

Edward kept either the radio or television on permanently. He said it was to disguise their voices and her heartbeat. As she thought about this, Bella shuddered and felt nauseated again. What thoughts was Edward hearing? They were surrounded by - how many? - dozens of vampires of all ages – throughout the castle and in the courtyard outside. She could sometimes hear their voices and laughter. From Aro's deceitfully warm welcome, it was clear her life was worthless, and their treatment of Edward must have been cruel. Though she'd asked many times, he'd refused to tell her what they'd done.

Bella longed to go to him, to run her hands through his hair and to feel his arms around her, but she kept her distance like he'd told her, while he stayed on the balcony. It made sense that he'd want to breathe air untainted by the scent of her blood.

In contrast to the hot Italian sun outside, the tower was comfortably cool. They kept the doors open, and Bella could see the heat shimmer over the roofs in the distance. It reminded her of Phoenix. Given the care the Cullens took to stay out of the sunlight, it seemed odd to see Edward's skin ablaze. He admitted he enjoyed the feel of it, and in a moment when he seemed to forget their situation, held his arms at just the right angle to direct the rainbow reflections onto the ceiling. Bella looked around the room at the little multicolored speckles dotted across her body, and then at Edward in surprise. His smile melted away, and he shuffled to an unlit spot.

She knew it was useless to love him, but when she looked at him her heart sped up, as it always had, and he heard it each time. He'd tilt his head almost imperceptibly in her direction for a few seconds, and then move back to his former position.

He said little. When he moved he was careful, and she came to realize he was in pain. It tore at her to see him so reduced from the strong and determined Cullen who used to tease his brothers and spar with Rosalie. She wanted to help him, but unless he had to, he wouldn't come anywhere near her. She wondered what words she'd really heard when she'd first awoke.

The dream came back the next night and, like before, just as the wolf took Edward down she screamed her warning and then felt comfort. In the morning all she could remember was the peace that came when she'd dreamed she heard him whispering to her.

Every day the burgundy of his eyes darkened a little more toward black.

Bella spent the third day dressed and resting on the sofa, trying to watch DVDs and read, but she couldn't concentrate. Edward was immobile out on the balcony, slumped in the corner, all knees and elbows, still staring into the sky as though his life depended on it. Again and again she found herself watching him, miserable because of the gulf between them.

On the fourth day, she felt a little stronger and more active. Despite the apparent calmness of their little apartment and lack of contact by any of the other castle inhabitants, she felt more and more frightened, and her tension increased until she wanted to scream. Small noises startled her and she continually glanced behind her. When she hugged herself the way she used to, she stopped suddenly as the movement shot red-hot wires through her arm. Each time she drew in a sharp breath, Edward's head shot up.

A little while later as Edward was taking a shower, a glimpse of color outside attracted Bella's attention. Edward appeared in front of her, arms wide, looking out toward the courtyard. At the far end, hanging by the fingertips of one hand, was a vampire, and he was staring straight at her, his mouth open in a broad grin, showing his teeth. Then he swung effortlessly from one finger hold to another, until he was close to their balcony.

Edward let out a throat-tearingly savage bellow which the stranger returned, and Bella's eardrums buzzed with the assault of sound as she staggered backward. Edward stayed near the door, keeping up a constant stream of threatening roars and snarls, crouched as though ready to spring. Bella knew he wasn't at full strength - far from it - so if it came to a fight, he stood no chance, but all she could do was sit, gasping with shock and fear.

Then she saw movement outside as the vampire dropped silently from the wall. A second later Bella heard a loud, deep crunch that she felt through the floor.

"Alec made him lose all sensation," Edward said.

The oak door opened. Aro swept into the apartment with Renata close behind, openly scrutinizing Edward and saying nothing, just holding out his hand. Edward took it, looking him straight in the eye as a barely-concealed wince crossed Aro's face, and he seemed to almost snatch his hand away before turning to Bella, as smooth and suave as ever. She thought Edward displayed a glimmer of satisfaction.

"My dear Bella, allow me to congratulate you on your recovery. You look simply delicious. I must also apologize for the unfortunate intrusion just now. Most regretful. My friend outside is a visitor and heard about you. He'd been merely curious until he caught your scent. I'm afraid you're just too delectable."

Bella stared at Aro, unable to take her eyes off of him. His smoothly polite sincerity was more menacing than if he'd threatened her. Edward hissed.

"I trust your needs are being met? I have now given orders to safeguard your privacy. This tower is clear, so you need not fear further interruption. I understand you'll require exercise, so the courtyard will be kept for your use, although you are at liberty to explore the rest of the castle if you wish. No one else will approach you."

Bella jumped as Edward blurred into a hunting crouch, feral, guttural sounds emanating from him. As she'd suspected, Aro's thoughts must be contradicting his words.

Renata positioned herself in front of Aro, but he waved her away. "Do not make yourself ridiculous, Edward. Challenge me and I give her to him anyway."

Edward slowly straightened, clearly trying to get himself under control, as Aro waited patiently.

Finally he said, "If you even think about leaving to go hunt, I will give your pet to Demetri. And if you try to change her, I will burn you both."

The color drained from Bella's face and the room swam. She knew what vampires could do, but to hear him say it so casually made it real. She flopped back against the arm of the sofa and closed her eyes, feeling sick to her stomach as she began to shake.

"They're gone." Edward sounded angry and afraid. "Are you all right?"

She slowly raised her head, and his image swam, but she could still see his face. His eyes were wide and staring, lips drawn back to expose his teeth. With his ferociously angry expression and dark-rimmed eyes, he looked truly dangerous; an angel of death who could kill her with a gesture. Yet, as he really looked at her for the first time since his attack, the anger melted away and his face softened. Within a few seconds, before her stood the Edward she used to know.

This was how he'd looked at her when she'd thought he wanted her forever. He'd even looked at her this way in the forest, just after he'd told her he _didn't _want her, when he'd dropped the pretense and shown her how wrong she'd been to think he cared. Aro was right. She'd been a pet, nothing more. She'd fallen for his smiles and attention, and had provided him with a temporary distraction from the long decades of his life. He'd dazzled her. They all had, and then they'd left without a backward glance.

But she'd loved him, and even though he'd told her the same often, it had never made sense. Still, she'd even believed him until he'd broken her, and now she couldn't bear to see _that look_, knowing it meant nothing. Knowing he was using it just to placate her.

_"Of course, I'll always love you ... in a way." _

Wrapping her arms around herself, she said, "In what universe would I be okay with any of this?" She gave a halfhearted gesture and he reached for her, but she flinched away. "Don't." She didn't want this; his kindness without his love, so she curled up, trying to block out the world.

"Here."

Edward knelt in front of her, holding a mug and helping her to grasp it, careful not to touch her. It was hot chocolate, and she took it, holding it carefully in her still-shaking hands. His eyes were large and afraid, his every movement hesitant. Instead of going back to his normal station on the balcony, he stayed there watching her, probably to make sure she drank it.

"I won't let it happen, you know." His voice was low, but earnest. "I'll find a way."

She sipped, fighting her longing and desperately trying to find something else to focus on. "What happened when Aro took your hand? He didn't like it, did he?"

Edward hesitated for a second before he said, "Jane had used her - gift - on me, and he felt the memory of it. It's rather - painful and he didn't want to prolong his agony."

As he'd done earlier, he was telling lies to protect her, obviously still feeling that same sense of obligation. His innate good manners and possibly a lingering but worn-out fondness hadn't let him abandon her to these monsters. He should be able to go home. It was all her fault he was here, and she didn't need to read Aro's mind to know they were never going to let her go, but there was a way she could free them both.

"You should escape, Edward."

He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I'm not strong enough to carry you. They'd catch us before we cleared the roof."

"I - I meant alone. You could do it."

He pushed back from her. "I'm not going to leave you to _him_!"

This was it. Bella steeled herself. "I d-don't mean that. You c-can be strong wh-when you go. With Aro starving you, you'll wind up doing it anyway. You might as well—"

"No!" Suddenly Edward was across the room, in the doorway. He looked wild, poised on the balls of his feet, staring at her with wide eyes, one hand in his hair and the other dug into the wall, turning the stone to dust. "Are you out of your mind?"

"It's the only way."

"No!" She'd never seen him so angry. "Bella, if you value my sanity, please just ... go where I can't see you."

She hesitated.

"Go!"

She fled into the bedroom.

**ooooooooooooo**

Again she had the nightmare of Edward and the wolf, but this time she fell and fell as she screamed out her warning.

"Shhh, shhhhh, it's all right."

Something cool brushed across her forehead and smoothed into her hair, calming her.

"Angel…"

"Shhhh, you're okay. It's just a dream."

She opened her eyes to find herself bundled up in the blankets, Edward's anxious face close to hers as he held her to him and brushed his fingers across her face and gently through her hair.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I know I frighten you now, but I just ... I needed to hold you. Please. Just for a moment. I swear, I won't hurt you."

"I'm not afraid of you."

He frowned. "I - I fed on you." His beautiful face twisted. "And earlier, you didn't want me near you."

Bella looked into his eyes, and her thoughts scattered.

"Tell me," he said.

"You always used to look at me like that, back when you ... when I thought you ..."

"Tell me," he said again.

She closed her eyes. "Back when I thought you loved me."

She tried to pull out of his arms, but he didn't release her.

"You think I don't love you?" His tone was wondering, then suddenly hopeful. "You think I don't love you. That's it, isn't it? You believed my lies." He took her face between his hands and looked down at her. "Bella, I have never _stopped _loving you! The lie was when I said I didn't want you."

She couldn't take it in. He couldn't be saying this.

She didn't know how long she wept. At first she was lost in the release of her emotions, all her confusion, fear, love and hurt tumbling out as Edward enveloped her, rocking and shushing her. Eventually she felt a sense of calm, broken by jagged breaths, and her mind began to clear and function again. She allowed him to hold her, aware that his cheek rested on her hair. Then she straightened her shoulders and looked up through bleary, swollen eyes.

He gave her a hesitant smile. "Hi."

"What's real?" was all she could manage to say as she braced herself for his reply. If she'd misunderstood or somehow gotten it wrong, she wouldn't be able to handle it.

He sounded forlorn. "What's real is that I don't deserve you. I lied to you and hurt you, but heaven help me, I love you." Suddenly he was talking fast, the way he always did when he was agitated. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. If I'd had any idea, any inkling, there's no way anyone would have dragged me from your side..."

Her thoughts were in a whirl, not making sense. He seemed to be apologizing. Why? It was all her fault.

"I thought it was the best way to protect you, so you could have a happy, healthy human life. The life you deserved and I could never give you. I thought they wouldn't find out about you once I was gone."

"But I've caused you so much trouble. It's because of me that you're in this mess"

He shook his head. "No, none of this is your fault."

"I thought you'd hate me."

"Never." Then he drew in a deep breath and said, "I have to ask something. Every night you call out to someone in your sleep. Your ... Angel. Do you love him?"

"You know you're my Angel, right? And I've always loved you."

As he stared at her she felt her cheeks burn, and she put her hand over her face. For a few excruciatingly embarrassing moments, neither of them moved until he gently grasped her wrist with cold fingers. "You love me? Still? After everything I've done to you?"

She nodded and suddenly he was hugging her tightly, her head pressed against his chest, and he was laughing.

"Please say it again."

"I love you, Edward."

"Please, again."

"I love you, Edward."

"Please don't stop. I can listen to you say it forever."

"I love you, Edward."

For the first time in what seemed like an eternity, she was able to laugh when he said, "You know, I've spent all week terrified you were dreaming about Mike Newton, and I couldn't even kill him for it."

He finally pulled back, and the relief on his face was evident.

"Bella, I've been such an idiot. I love you, and I'll love you for as long as I exist. I would have come back to beg your forgiveness, but I was ..." He seemed to search for words, "detained."

She kept still, not sure how he was maintaining control as he brushed his lips across her forehead. And then ... and then ... Bella held her breath. She'd longed for this moment, convinced it could never happen. He held her face gently as he kissed her. They were both careful, keeping it soft and light, but it was more than enough.

She didn't care that she was held prisoner in a castle full of vampires.

He was healing her now.

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

Billy watched Charlie in concern as he tried to wrap his mind around what they'd told him. He was glad his friend knew, but it would take a while for him to be comfortable with it, and probably with him.

Sam was talking to Esme when Carlisle jumped his feet, holding out his hand for the phone. "Yes, of course, Mrs Cullen. I'll put him right on."

Billy could only hear Carlisle's side of the conversation as he tried to put it together.

"Tell Alice I'm fine … She can't see us? Seth and Edward were together, and I'm here with Sam right now, so it's possible being in close proximity to the pack blocks her … It's good Jasper's helping to keep her calm. I know she must be frustrated." He pulled his cell from his pocket. "Reception's poor here... Yes, they've made me very welcome … Well they were very grateful Edward defended one of their boys … Yes, they have a way of making contact, oddly enough through mind reading ... Seth appears safe for the moment, but it's been a while ..." He paused again, looking over at Sam. "Please don't get your hopes up, but there may be a chance for Bella. Make the calls and start the mailings, then fly up here ... I know ... we'd always hoped it would never come to this … I love you too, dear … I'll see you soon."

As he put the phone down, he was surprised to find Billy smiling.

"What are you going to do?" Charlie asked.

Carlisle drew in a slow, deep breath. "Gentlemen, we're going to blackmail the Volturi."

**..000…000…000…000…000..**

**A/N** When I've finished this I'll go back through to take out all the author's notes. A couple of friends have indicated they might load it to their Kindles, so it'll look nice & tidy, just like a 'real' book.


	12. Chapter 12

The Count of Tuscany

Chapter 12 - Syzygy

**Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. **

**In the unlikely event you want to use any of this, please ask me first.**

**Thank you, Alby Mangroves, for your support and help. Mwah! **

**As always, it's Irritable Grizzzly who makes this legible – she cuts out all the crap and does the fancy grammary stuff so that all of you might think I know what I'm doing. You should know – it's her (or should that be "it is she"? I dunno; she didn't edit this bit).**

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

I gave Edward and Bella Christmas off, so I've been asked for a recap:

Edward left Bella in the forest , in September(New Moon). He went off on his own.

Mid-December, Aro sent an email saying, basically: Get your arse over here, boy, we've been hearing stuff about you.

So he went.

On the plane he found that Seth Clearwater was also a valued guest of the Volturi. The proximity to hostile vamps brought on a very quick phasing.

Victoria had dobbed in the Cullens to Aro for revenge and told the Volts about the Quileutes at the same time. Aro pretended he was punishing Edward for daring to have a girlfriend and not eat her. Carlisle was wrong in thinking that Aro wanted Edward to join the Guard. His real motive for sending for him was that having Edward around meant that he'd learn stuff that Aro didn't want him to, such as that Aro killed Didyme.

After a scrap, during which Edward tried to protect Seth, the kid phased back from wolf to human. In the split second of change Alice saw beaten-up Edward and heard Aro give an order to "get rid of the filth" & it all went black. The Cullens assumed Edward was killed.

Aro had Edward made into a patio & he stayed there until May when Bella was kidnapped by the Volturi. They dug him up and brought her to him to be "popped open like a can of coke" (thank you, JadaPattinson). Aro stayed to gloat, so Edward saw what he was doing & stopped drinking.

Billy and Sam roped Charlie in to finding Carlisle and in June they teamed up to try to get Bella and Seth out of Volterra. The cavalry is riding to blackmail the Volturi.

If I haven't bored you to tears already, we now go back five weeks...

…**ooOOOO00000OOOOoo…**

**Volterra - May**

_My Bella, my Bella, my Bella. _Edward repeated the mantra over and over in his mind, in time with her heart.

His mood swung from elation to despair by the moment.

_Bella's here with me and she loves me. Thank God she still loves me. _

_Bella's here with me. I wish to God she was far away and safe._

He was a mess, and he knew it.

Last night he and Bella talked and kissed until she'd fallen asleep and then he'd escaped to his balcony and the sky, away from the crushing walls and the blackness in his mind.

At least he had the satisfaction of knowing he'd stunned Aro into breaking the mind link. While Edward hadn't been sure he wanted the ancient vampire to know about the watchers in the hills, he _definitely_ didn't want him to know about the reconciliation with Bella, so he'd turned Aro's gift against him.

He forced himself to summon up every feeling of despair and desolation he'd felt during all those months he'd descended into fiery thirst. As Aro touched him, Edward assaulted him with images and feelings, insanity and loathing, until his enemy's shocked mind was wide open, thus allowing him access to the sensations that caused Aro the most pain. Edward redoubled his efforts. He sharpened his focus and strengthened it, and he was rewarded with an instantaneous feedback loop that grew in intensity. Aro knew nothing other than the attack on his mind and snatched his hand away.

The effort had taken its toll on Edward, too, but he'd had Bella to take care of. She'd barely recovered from his attack a few days ago and was now pale and shaking again.

He'd stayed inside those walls and looked after her while trying so hard to keep it all under control, and then she'd flung it back in his face. Didn't she understand that without her there was no light, no air, no life? She'd told him to end her as though she meant nothing, and he could survive without her; as though his effort to control his nature meant nothing.

_I've got to feed. I can't think straight._

At first Aro had been furious that Edward managed to stop himself from draining Bella, and he let Edward know it. But then his anger had subsided and he was almost gleeful.

_Excellent. Now you will provide me with more sport, of a kind I've never before encountered. _

Aro had let him know Heidi was due that afternoon and amused himself all night with plans to test Edward's limits. He would start small, maybe let Edward hear them feasting. Then for more fun and games, he'd invite them both to the next one and pit Edward against the mutant..

It echoed Edward's own fears. _Even if we get out of here, I can't go home. I've broken the treaty. Will Seth attack me when we meet again? _Before, he would have just let Seth take him down, but now he had Bella to protect. _ No! I won't kill Seth! _

Marcus held a shred of sympathy, when he thought of anything at all, but he allowed time to drift by. He would think about going to see whether the bond was real between Cullen and his pet, and again the fog would envelope his mind.

Caius was disapproving of Aro's games. In his view, this was inefficient and Aro should simply get rid of them.

When Bella awoke the next morning, Edward handed her a paper with his plan written on it. He could see his idea frightened her. It scared him too, but he couldn't think of an alternative.

"I promise I'll do it quickly. It won't hurt for more than an instant."

"I know," she said, always trusting. "You're thirsty and you don't really have any choice. I'll be okay." She'd tried to smile. "I just wish we didn't have to do this outside."

"The fresh air will dissipate the scent, so maybe you won't feel faint. Just don't look, ok?"

They'd waited until most of the castle's inhabitants were together watching a soccer match, Italy versus Germany, and Italy were down a goal. He could hear Demetri and Afton describing the torments they would have imposed on the referee and various players whose tactics displeased them.

Now he and Bella sat on a stone bench in the center of the courtyard under the blessedly open sky, the sun warm on their backs. He hugged her a little tighter and looked around. It was time.

As Bella closed her eyes and put her head in her hands, Edward lunged.

The cat didn't make a sound as he snapped its neck and sank his teeth in. The rush of blood was brief, barely enough to coat his throat, but every fiber of his being roared with need.

_Keep your focus. You can do this without killing Bella. _

He whirled to the next cat as he spit fur.

_My Bella, my Bella, my Bella._

He drained eight more as he felt the returning glow of strength. The aches and stabbing pains from half-healed ligaments and torn muscles faded away. Drinking the blood brought a familiar but much-missed euphoria; that glorious feeling of power, building and flowing, at once everything ... and totally inadequate. This was sustenance, this was healing, but there should be more. His instincts demanded something larger and sweeter that ran on two feet.

More. He needed more. There _was_ real prey here, larger, luscious. Why was he ignoring it?

A movement caught his eye.

Instantly he had it, hair pulled out of the way, head tilted, neck bared and ready for his teeth. Oddly, it didn't struggle.

"E-Edward?"

_You can't have this one! Leave her alone._

He didn't move for several seconds as disappointment went through him, quickly replaced by anger, first at her, then at himself. He lifted his lips from her neck, not trusting himself to move quickly. His instincts screamed at him to sink his teeth in, just - there.

"Bella, don't you know better than to turn your back on a predator?" His voice was rough with the effort of restraining himself.

"I didn't think," she whispered. "I felt dizzy and wanted to move into the shade."

_Get a grip. This is Bella._

"I frightened you." His shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry." He waited until her breathing and heart rate settled down. Then he took her hand and they walked across to a shady bench. He stood nearby, afraid of her reaction and, he had to admit, afraid of himself.

After a few minutes she gave him a hesitant smile.

"What?"

"Your eyes are gold. Dark, but getting lighter."

As the blood continued to flow into every cell of his body, relief made him feel almost giddy. Edward smiled back. "You really have no sense of self-preservation."

Bella patted the bench next to her, and as he sat she took his hand. "Welcome back. Gold is way better than red. It doesn't clash with your hair."

"Fashion tips from you? Alice would be proud."

The lighthearted moment was all too brief. They'd been heard.

As they got to their feet, Caius, Aro, and Renata emerged through the far door and into the courtyard. Edward moved in front of Bella. As expected, Caius radiated annoyance, but Aro was still smiling.

"I admire the spirit of your continued defiance, Edward. It amuses me how determined you are to protect your pet." Aro allowed the memory of the ballet studio to replay in his mind, reveling in the taste of Bella's blood and how it soothed Edward's throat. Just as they had in the marble chamber all those months ago, Edward's venom ducts reacted and a shiver of longing swept through him, despite his recent escapades.

_Your gambit is useless. You say you love her, but you **will **kill her. The issue is simply when. You could make that time now, instantaneous and painless, while she is unsuspecting. Do you love her enough to do that? Or will you continue our game, knowing you will lose? What will you force her to witness and how much will she hate you for it before you give in to the inevitable?_

Bella took his hand and he looked at her. "I don't know what he said, but I trust you. You're not a monster."

"The effrontery of these modern humans." In a second Aro stood in front of Edward. "They pollute, decimate and breed out of control, carelessly forcing into extinction any species for which they have no use. Yet she calls _us_ monsters."

Bella trembled and Edward put his arms round her.

Aro directed his words to Bella. "You have the power of speech and some limited cognitive abilities, my dear, but do not consider yourself Edward's equal. He stands at the pinnacle of creation. You are his natural food source. He should treat you accordingly."

That's when Edward finally understood Aro's limitations. He knew all of Edward's thoughts about Bella, all his struggles to cope with the lure of her scent, and he could recall them at will. But it wasn't enough. Aro gained the memories too easily; he hadn't lived them day-to-day. Never learned this kind of restraint for himself, so he understood only the difficulties, not the reward of achievement and real love.

"Bella, hey, look at me." She did. "Don't listen. He's wrong."

"Am I?" Aro laughed. "This little morsel will destroy you - has destroyed you - but at least I can thank her for the sport you both provide. For a little while longer." He walked away. "Since you've cleared out my feline friends, let's see how keen your pet will be to kiss you when you've fed on a few rats. Be warned, though, it's said they carry Hantavirus. But then, maybe you should. It would add a certain _piquancy _to her flavor. And I do so love a good hemorrhage, don't you?"

**0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0**

**June - Five weeks later**

Edward's tolerance had been pushed beyond limits Bella never thought he could reach. After he fed on the cats they'd had two weeks of isolation without seeing another vampire. Over time his eyes had darkened until the gold had almost gone and the purplish circles were deepening each day. One afternoon Edward stopped speaking mid-word and gave Bella a panicked look. They'd discussed what they'd do when Aro made his move, and now it was time. As the Voluri feasted, Bella hid in the bedroom with the door closed while Edward sat on the balcony, curled up and muttering to himself.

The following week they were sent for. She could hear the screams of the other humans as the Volturi fed. Keeping out of the way as much as they could, Edward held her tightly in his arms as she pressed her face into his chest. She'd heard him snarl whenever any other vampire came close, but the rest of the time he repeated, "This is my Bella, this is my Bella." When they'd finally been released, he'd had to carry her back to their apartment where they huddled fully clothed under a hot shower.

Seth had been kept cooped up in his cell. Jane had been in charge of him for months now. Her feelings weren't warm enough to be described as friendly, but at least she didn't want to make him miserable and she took seriously her orders to keep him healthy. Having contact with someone immune to her power and who didn't seem to hate her had been refreshing. Now he was anxious from being kept underground for so long.

The next little diversion they provided was for Aro, the ever-present Renata, and a few of the guard. There was one other vampire in the room whose eyes were bright red. He wasn't very tall but was more heavily muscled than Edward. Aro's instructions to him were simple: drain the human or die.

The fight had seemed to go on forever, although Bella could see little of it. She'd see Edward and his opponent frozen for an instant before a blurred flurry of movement, crashes, screeches and roars and then another freeze-frame. All the while the other vampires laughed and jeered as Edward kept the stranger from her. It was difficult to see who was winning until suddenly Edward staggered backward. The other vampire was on the floor, a crumpled mess of limbs and seeping venom, writhing and twitching as they tried to reassemble. That day, Edward leaned on Bella on their way back to their tower.

They'd stopped talking about what they'd do when they got home. Bella no longer hoped anyone would rescue them. After all, no one had come for Edward in all these months, and it was only a matter of time before he was overcome - either by thirst or a stronger vampire.

She couldn't bear to talk or even think about her home. Her days were spent in a tedious tension, wondering when they'd be summoned. Together she and Edward cooked her meals, but she didn't have an appetite. She forced the food down to please him, to ease his obvious guilt.

He didn't eat rats.

Sometimes they'd lie in each other's arms, just holding each other. At other times Edward murmured his excuses and retreated to the fresh air, shuddering with the effort of maintaining control.

They kept music playing day and night.

They were cuddled together on the sofa as evening fell, waiting for the courtyard to cool before they ventured outside. Bella rested her head on Edward's chest and he ran his fingers through her hair. Then he turned rigid and tilted his head.

"What...?"

"Seth. Escaped."

For a wild moment, Bella felt a surge of happiness.

"They - they're armed with pikes." Too fast for her to see, Edward was on his feet, poised. "They're after him."

"We've got to help him," she said.

Edward looked toward the window, back to her, and then to the window again, face twisted with indecision. "I can't leave you! They'll give you to Demetri!"

Bella steeled herself. "Put me on your back and run."

"But ..." He stopped for a moment and then swung her onto his shoulders and dashed out.

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

Just as Edward and Bella darted into the courtyard, Seth burst in from the other side. Bella gasped when she saw the huge sandy wolf instead of the spindly little kid she hardly remembered. His muzzle was drawn back to show his teeth and he snarled at Edward, clearly not recognizing him. He crouched ready to spring or to run, she wasn't sure which. Edward stopped as Seth bulleted toward them, his mouth wide open with huge curved teeth. At the last moment, Edward sidestepped, running his hand along Seth's fur as he pounded past. "Stop, Seth."

The wolf whirled, paws sliding along the flagstones. Then he stood, fur on end, ears pricked, radiating astonishment. He yelped.

"Hi, pal." Edward stepped forward and briefly rubbed his head. "I know you did ... tell you later."

Seth nodded, tongue lolling in a wolfy grin. Then he wheeled around and headed through the nearest door.

They ran down the stone-flagged corridors at dizzying speed, skidding round corners. Even though she was scared to death, Bella loved that she was doing something she never thought she'd do again. The familiarity of wrapping her arms around Edward's broad shoulders and the smoothness of his running filled her with good memories. She tightened her arms around him. He must have understood because he touched her hand.

Seth grunted as he loped alongside. He and Edward seemed to be having a conversation. "No idea. They won't give you up ... never had a chance, but maybe now ... not on my own, but with you ... yes ... "

A few seconds later Edward grabbed Seth's shoulder and they almost stopped. "Take Bella." He swung her from his shoulders onto Seth's back. She grabbed at the fur behind his neck. "I'll be right behind you."

"Edward!" He couldn't be…

"Bella - I love you." He turned away. "Go, Seth."

Bella gasped and clutched harder at the fur as Seth sped away. She heard crunches and roars, the sound of boulders smashing together, and heavy stone blocks tumbling. She tried to turn to see whether Edward was following, but Seth was like a giant, furry rocking horse, and it took all of her effort not to slide off his back.

The world lurched and she was flying, twisting. She crunched into the wall, rebounded, and then landed on something large and springy. Seth yowled close to her ear, staggered, and slipped sideways. Momentarily dazed, Bella looked around. Seth was on his side with something sticking out of his shoulder. He writhed and seemed to be trying to reach it with his teeth. It was some kind of wooden shaft, buried in the muscle.

She looked up the passageway. Two of them had Edward. He was on his knees with his arms stretched wide and held back. "Are you hurt?" he said as he battled uselessly against the hands that held him.

Reflexively she shook her head and then looked down to see blood all over her. "I don't think it's mine." Her head felt light.

The two vampires holding Edward dragged him to his feet and away. He still fought to get free while calling to her. Demetri appeared as Bella rolled onto her hands and knees and tried to clear her head so she could follow. Demetri swept her up and carried her after the others. She tried to see back down the passageway. "Seth...?"

"They'll bring him." Demetri grinned down at her. "I normally relish the sight of a blood-dipped snack, but wolf just isn't your flavor."

**0o0o0o0o0o0**

Bella wanted to scream.

Demetri held her to the side of the dais, a few feet away from Edward. Though she knew it was useless, she fought to get free.

Edward was held fast as he faced Aro and Caius.

Somewhere behind her, Seth was snarling, and then he yelped and fell silent. Three of the vampires had forced him into the chamber and were pointing large spear-like weapons at him. One of them had prodded him, drawing blood. The larger wound he'd been given a few minutes earlier was only beginning to heal, and he limped badly.

This had to be it. There was nothing left. Her ears were ringing, and every noise clashed in her head, but at the same time sounded muffled. Everything was happening in a dreamlike slow motion. She heard her own shallow breathing.

Aro said, "This game has grown tedious, Edward. Kill her now or I shall dismember and burn you in front of her, and then Demetri will have her."

She didn't want Edward to have to kill her, but they'd left him no choice. They'd come so far and endured so much, but now it was all over. She knew that no matter how much it hurt him, he'd do this for her. He'd make it quick and painless. She might not even see it coming, but what would they do to him afterward? How much more would they make him suffer?

Everyone was silent, waiting for his answer.

Through tears, Bella noticed a slight shift in his posture, a stillness and tension in his shoulders before he slowly lifted his head again. His voice shook. "If I do this, you'll have no satisfaction from it. I'll just be your instrument."

"Oh, believe me, Edward, I will have plenty of satisfaction."

"Then can we at least have a few minutes of privacy?" Aro was unmoved. "Please, I love her. Don't make me do this here."

"And spoil everyone's enjoyment? Are you such a fool?"

"Marcus doesn't think I'm a fool. He understands."

"Yeeesss. Our poor brother is not himself."

"Marcus is weak." Caius said. "Aro, end this nonsense."

"Please," Edward said. "Five minutes."

"You procrastinate. Since you won't choose - Demetri, find an artery …"

"No!" Then something in Edward's expression shifted. The lines of stress and fear softened and smoothed away and were replaced with love and longing. For a few lingering moments, neither moved nor broke eye contact until he gave her a small, sad smile. Even through her tears Bella could see he'd never looked more beautiful.

"Don't cry, Bella." His voice caressed her. "You'll be all right now, Love." He turned back to Aro and closed his eyes. "I refuse."

Bella's legs gave way and Demetri caught her.

Aro was laughing.

All Bella could do was hang, half-supported in Demetri's hands as Aro stepped forward. With an almost casual gesture he put his hands around Edward's neck and twisted. There was a screech and then a surreal moment when Edward's body knelt, headless. It toppled sideways and gracelessly slumped onto the floor.

Seth howled. A look of shock crossed Aro's face and his laughter stopped. He dropped Edward's head and tottered back a step.

Caius grabbed Aro's sleeve. "He told you something as you touched him? What was it?"

"He said, 'Carlisle'."

The doors crashed open.


	13. Chapter 13

**The Count of Tuscany**

**Chapter 13 - The Italian Job**

Come, my love, I'll tell you a tale, a boy and girl and their love story.

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

**...oooOOO00000OOOooo...**

**June**

The castle was quiet.

Jasper walked in front with Alice, holding her hand. Each guard they passed grinned inanely and did nothing to stop them.

Carlisle noticed that little seemed different from his last visit, nearly three centuries ago. The stone-lined corridors were worn a little smoother, the tread of many feet had deepened the grooves in the steps, and the furnishings were a mixture of styles from down the years, but that was about it.

Emmett, Rosalie, Carmen, and Eleazar brought up the rear.

Carlisle looked back to make sure Sam and the pack were all right. They crowded together, noses wrinkled in disgust, and looked warily at the vampires they passed.

Esme tightened her grip on his hand. "He was here. And Bella and Seth, too."

Carlisle's reply was to gently squeeze her fingers as he heard sad murmurs from Rosalie and Emmett.

"Can you hear two heartbeats?" They stopped and listened. One beat was large and powerful, the other clearly smaller, with a human rhythm. Both raced.

Seth howled, and they all broke into a run.

Carlisle sprinted down several corridors and flung open the doors to the marble chamber. He paused. Aro and Caius stood across from him. For the briefest moment, Aro looked shocked, but he recovered quickly and beamed. Caius's expression was as irritated as ever.

The scent, _that _scent, filled the air and the world came to a shuddering halt as relief and joy washed over him.

_Edward! My son lives!_

There was an instant of stillness as everyone became a frozen tableau.

_Edward! Where...?_

Something lay at Aro's feet, ungainly and ... a body, its shape achingly familiar. Nearby, a head. Horror replaced his joy.

_Edward? No! We were told you were gone... _

Next to him, Esme started forward with a cry, but he had enough presence of mind to hold her back. Then he held up his hand as a warning to the rest of his family but could sense their mixed relief and anxiety.

_Carlisle, think, dammit! _

_Oh, Edward, couldn't you stall them? _But Carlisle knew the answer. _It was you or Bella, wasn't it? I'll get you out of here, son. It's going to be all right, I promise. _

Aro laughed. "We're having a little entertainment this evening, old friend. Such a pity you missed the overture, but now that you're here for the main event, I promise it will be inflammatory."

He choked on his fury. His instinct was to dart to Edward's side and let everything else go to hell. He knew his glare must be murderous. His vampire instinct was thrilled by the prospect of savagery and violence. Renata stood poised, ready to deflect his attack.

"You don't like this, do you, my friend? Seeing what you've caused?" Aro said. "The man one calls brother always proves the worst traitor." He drifted toward the front of the dais. "Your betrayal was ignominious. An honorable man would have stood penance for his and his coven's crimes, yet you skulked in your far land. And now you trespass here, uninvited and unheralded in the manner of thieves, accompanied by those who are the mortal enemies of our kind."

Eleazar said, "Gently, friend."

Jasper sent a momentary wave of peace as a reminder of their mission, and Carlisle looked away from Aro and down to the crumpled body on the floor. Losing his focus and diverting Jasper's energy wouldn't help. Years of crisis training kicked in, and he pushed the anger aside. For now.

_Triage_.

Bella was alive. Hurt? No, wrong shade, wrong scent–wolf.

_Thank God, they haven't hurt her_.

_Concentrate._

Seth. Wounded, bleeding, heart rate fast but strong. Angry snarls. Aware.

Bella was almost choking, eyes wide as she strained forward, seemingly unaware of anything other than Edward. She clawed at Demetri's hands.

Aro turned his attention to Carmen and Eleazar. "But this surprise is far from unwelcome. We miss you, Eleazar. May we hope that you have reconsidered your decision to live in the outside world and return to our service?" He smiled at Carmen. "And your beautiful mate, too?"

Carmen gave him a stiff nod, while Eleazar gestured toward the Cullens and said, "Thank you for your welcome, Aro, but we are here to support Carlisle. He has given us disturbing news that will affect us all. We think you should hear him."

"Indeed?" Aro swept around to extend his smile to Caius. "Has our friend delivered these other mutants to us, just as his son did?"

Gasps from the pack were drowned in Seth's feral snarl. Sam laughed.

A low rumble came from Emmett's chest, and he flexed his shoulders as Felix squared up in front of him.

Aro hissed and Renata moved between them.

Carlisle fought his anger as it threatened to overwhelm him. His son lay lifeless on the floor, and Bella was almost hysterical as she tried to free herself from Demetri. Coldness gripped him when he thought how it could have gone the other way— if Charlie hadn't found him, or he'd been too late. The notion fed, rather than quenched, his growing fury. He'd thought he could deal with this calmly, swallow his pride for the greater good and protect his family ... and the rest of his kind.

But he couldn't.

_No._

_Enough!_

"I'm taking the children home."

Aro had been stalking toward Emmett, but now he whirled around. "Oh, I don't think-"

"We have more important things to deal with than point-scoring. Humans have found out we exist and they're studying us."

Carlisle pulled a thumb drive from his pocket. Such a tiny object, yet the data it held changed everything. He lobbed it to Caius. "They've been watching us for some years. It's all in there."

"Indeed?" Caius raised his eyebrows.

"And now they've learned about our physical makeup—"

"Then they've also learned they cannot harm us. This is an irritation, but it's temporary. You do not impress me with your news."

"Not so fast. Since our body cell structure turns crystalline, it can be disrupted—broken—by a specific resonant frequency. Many humans are engaged in research projects dedicated to establishing ours. Once they succeed, and they will, any vampire caught within a triangle of transmitters will shatter into a pool of venom and dust."

Caius looked thoughtful while Aro waved his hand. "Yes, yes, very interesting. But we're not going to stand by while they set up giant pylons."

"It'll be a simple task to build the technology into small devices, such as cellphones. The signal doesn't have to be strong."

"Cellphones? They can do that?" Caius said. "We'll be exiled from the cities."

"Yes."

"Someone has allowed themselves to come to the humans' attention! Who has flouted our laws?" Aro shouted. "I shall personally supervise their torment for a thousand years." He stalked forward, scarlet eyes narrowing. "But do we need to look far, _old friend_? Is that why you're here, your whole coven and these shape-shifters? You've been noticed and now think to intimidate us into overlooking your transgressions? Is this your fool's game?"

. "It's not us. It's you."

"You acc—"

"You've spent thousands of years imposing your so-called 'laws,' while making yourselves known to religious leaders, haven't you? Terrifying them into submission? They couldn't do anything about you, had nothing with which to fight back. They kept silent because you left them no choice."

"It was necessary to maintain our power!"

"It was stupid! For centuries, you've had humans delivered like cattle. You've tortured them and slaughtered them in your feasts. You've grown lazy while the world has changed."

Aro snatched the thumb drive from Caius's hand and crushed it. Black dust seeped between his fingers. "This is all lies! It's you ... and _him_ ... and _them_! Blatantly flouting our laws. You're trying to trick us because you've been detected. You're insane if you think any of you will leave here alive!"

"That wasn't the only copy. Unless we all return home safely, all our findings will be released to every vampire, human government, and television station. I've arranged dropboxes around the world, dozens of them."

"You've done _what_?" Caius said, sounding rattled for the first time.

"We've made it quite plain that you're the ones responsible."

Aro's voice climbed the scale. "We have not caused this! We rule this world. I'll destroy anyone who perpetuates such blasphemy and teach the humans a lesson they'll remember for eternity. I'll drain them to the last mewling babe!"

"Aro!"

Caius was ignored.

"I shall torch your precious Edward and then skin and drain his human. All of you can join him under my courtyard. I'll mix his ashes into the concrete that holds you. When I buried _him_ it took three months to lose his mind and I'll—"

Esme put her hands over her mouth. "Edward?"

Aro sneered at her, teeth bared, and Carlisle dropped into a crouch. Emmett followed and said "I'm gonna rip this two-faced coward limb-from-limb."

Esme gripped Carlisle's shoulder. "Jasper? Would you please?"

"Got it."

As Esme stepped forward, Renata's eyes unfocused and her expression got dreamy.

_Crack!_

Esme backhanded Aro across the face. He hurtled backward, crashed through his throne, and smashed into the far wall, shattering the stone blocks. By the time he leaped to his feet, Esme had her hand at his throat. She lifted and threw him again.

Emmett barreled into Felix mid-leap and Rosalie ran to stand in front of Jane, who narrowed her eyes and Rosalie fell, screaming. Paul and Leah were already darting across the room to loom over Jane. The little vampire faltered and froze, her delight fading.

Leah gave her an unpleasant smile. "You looked after my little brother and brought him books, so I'm not going to rip you apart just yet, but please give me a reason..."

Demetri dragged Bella to the side of the chamber, his teeth bared. Alice confronted him. "Give her to me."

"I take no orders from you, witch."

Chelsea and Corin ran to Esme, and Carlisle hauled them from his wife.

Silent shockwaves accompanied Jake and Quil as they phased, and their howls and snarls echoed Seth's.

Caius remained impassive.

In the center of it all, Jasper stood still with Carmen and Eleazar at his side. Carlisle saw him inhale deeply, and braced himself for whatever he was about to do. Jasper raised his head, closed his eyes, and clenched his fists.

The burst of feeling nearly brought Carlisle to his knees. Others fell. Bella screamed, despair turning it into an exhausted wail. Afton and Santiago dropped their pikes and Caius sagged onto his throne, while Corin whirled to find her husband. Jasper had sent love and longing, and he brought them to a standstill.

In the ringing silence that followed, the only sound was a soft rustle. Marcus was standing in the doorway, his hands held out as though warming them before a fire. Despite his youthful immortality, his face looked drawn and old from his centuries of grief. He took his time scanning everyone in the chamber. Carlisle saw, for the first time ever, the beginnings of a smile on his face.

Marcus looked at Bella for several seconds, then Edward. "We're letting them go. Carlisle is right. We have more important matters to deal with now."

Aro scrambled to his feet and pushed past Esme. "You're weak, Marcus, just as you were when Didyme—"

"Enough," Caius said. "We're outmaneuvered. I agree with Marcus. We cannot risk destroying them now, however satisfying that might be."

"No! They do not dictate—"

"This is the result of your ambition. You instigated the laws to promote _your_ rule over the vampire world, and now we have to deal with the consequences. Carlisle and his coven may depart. This is _my_ decision."

Lightning quick, Aro leaped at Caius's unprotected back. They hit the wall with a thunderous crunch, dislodging some of the blocks. Stone chippings and mortar rained down. Aro screeched and hissed as he clawed at Caius's shoulders and tried to sink his teeth into his neck. Caius somersaulted and tried to pull Aro from him. Then he slumped. Renata smiled. She'd obviously clouded his brain. Aro laughed in satisfaction as he pulled Caius's head to one side.

Aro was fast, but Jake and Quil were faster. They bowled into Renata and knocked her to the floor. Felix and Santiago hauled Aro away, spitting and screaming. They forced him to his knees as Caius leaped to his feet and whirled. He reached for Aro's head, but then Marcus was there, gripping his arm.

"Caius, please."

Caius snarled and bared his teeth, but Marcus didn't flinch. "Don't do this. You'll regret it when your anger fades."

"Get your hands off me!"

Marcus didn't let go. "Think, my friend. We need him. We have to present a united front to lead our kind, now, more than ever."

"Listen to him," Carlisle said.

As Caius lowered his arms, Marcus turned to Renata. "Aro has always considered you to be his personal bodyguard. That is no longer true. Protect him at our expense again, and I'll have you destroyed." Although his voice was quiet, she shuddered and nodded.

Aro was writhing and screaming, demanding to be released.

"Lock him up."

He cursed and spat, threatening Marcus and Caius as Felix and Santiago dragged him to his feet and wrestled him out of the chamber.

Carlisle looked around. To his left, Emmett and Rosalie knelt at either side of Edward. His head was back where it should be as he healed. Emmett's words belied the relief in his voice. "Bro, that's gotta sting."

Edward gave one slow blink.

"He's still in shock," Jasper said. "Take it easy."

Rosalie gave Edward a rare smile. "Trust you to do something dramatic," she said and stroked his hair. "It's good to see you, Edward."

Alice supported Bella and gently turned her. "Bella! Bella, look at me. Look at me! He'll be all right. Edward will be fine. Bella!" Alice helped her sit, and then drew her into a hug. Esme sat on her other side with her arms around her. Bella clutched at them and gave herself up to their embrace.

The pack clustered around Seth, patting him and whispering their hellos while Sam examined his shoulder.

Esme looked up and smiled. "Let's get out of here. I want to go home."

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**June**

Charlie sat with his head slumped, fingers linked behind his neck, mumbling into his cereal. "Vampires. I still can't believe it. My daughter's dating a vampire."

Billy patted his shoulder.

"And Alice." He sounded hurt. "I liked Alice."

"You didn't like Edward?"

"He's her boyfriend. I'm not supposed to like him."

"Drink your coffee, Charlie," Billy said and nudged the mug closer.

"Last night I thought I had a handle on it, but this morning..." Charlie shuddered. "The way he looks at her. He's lit up like one of those Chinese lamps. I don't know how to talk to him. He looks like a kid, but he's a hundred and fifty or somethin'. I don't know. I just don't know."

He was silent for a few moments.

"They had to carry him onto the plane, you know?"

"Sue told me about it."

"They said that the vampire king ripped his head off but he was healing. Healing! Bella was in a hell of a state, crying and hugging me. I was no better, I can tell you."

Billy said, "Sam told me Seth was shouting at him not to hurt Edward because he's his friend and that if he'd been starved for five months, he would've bitten Bella, too. Here." Billy picked up the coffee cup and forced it into Charlie's hand.

"She sat next to _him_, holding his hand and he just lay there and looked at her, his eyes all black and hollow. It was weird how one minute he couldn't do anything and then about halfway home he sat up and put his arms around her. I swear I saw Carlisle crying.

"By the time we landed he could just about talk and he told Bells to come home with me and he'd see her soon as he could. She didn't like it, but she was dead on her feet. Alice carried her upstairs. It looked so strange, little Alice carrying Bella like she was a doll. I couldn't bear to leave her alone. She started having nightmares and suddenly _he_ was in the room, all healed, eyes that weird yellow color again, pleading with me to let him stay with her." Charlie sipped his coffee absently, and then put the cup down.

"I didn't know what to do. I was exhausted myself. In the end, he just said to me, 'Chief Swan, I understand this is very difficult for you but being so tired can't make it any easier. Why don't you get some sleep and I'll watch over her?"

"All I could say was, 'You can't expect me to sleep with a vampire in the house.' He just gave me that lopsided smile of his and said, 'You don't need to start worrying about that now. We're still the same…people…we always were. You just know a little more about us.' I think he missed the point, but I couldn't think what it was, either."

Charlie rubbed his hand across his face. "And I don't know how the hell I'm going to explain all this to her mother."

**o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o**

Edward held Bella close as they climbed the stairs. Emmett watched them, his thoughts serious.

_Five months and you didn't eat her. This is amazing stuff, bro._

Edward nodded a thank you.

_You know, with restraint like that, some day you could totally do Bella. Y'know, if you were really careful. Maybe. One day._

Edward stopped and pursed his lips. He thought over that night in Volterra, a few days after he and Bella were reconciled. She'd slept in his arms every night as his murmurs and caresses soothed away her nightmares. "Please," she'd said one night, over and over. "They'll never let us go. I want you. Please."

He'd found it so difficult to say no. God knew, he wanted her, too. He'd held her flushed, tear-streaked face between his cool hands, and when he'd shaken his head, she'd closed her eyes and more tears trickled into her hair. He'd kissed them away and leaned in to whisper, "Not here, not with an audience. Everyone in the castle would know and I won't do that to you. But if ever we get home, I promise we'll try."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Emmett looking up at him, radiating encouragement. Edward gave him the biggest, smuggest grin he could muster, then he continued on to Carlisle's study as Emmett's thoughts spluttered.

In the study, Carlisle listened, grave-faced, as Edward told him about the telepaths.

"Contrary to what we thought, Aro considers me a threat. He doesn't want Alice around, either."

Carlisle rubbed his face. "I don't know how to forgive myself for letting you go there alone. If I'd had any idea..."

"Don't do that to yourself. It wasn't your fault. You didn't know Aro murdered Didyme any more than Marcus did."

"I should have realized that if he couldn't control you, he'd try to destroy you." Carlisle drew in a shaky breath. "He nearly destroyed us, too. Sometimes I find it hard to believe you're back with us."

"I'm here and I love you, Dad," Edward said and hugged him. Then he sat back down and sighed. "What do we do about Marcus? Should we tell him?"

"I think," Carlisle said, "that we shouldn't rush into anything. They need Aro as a figurehead and if we expose him, Marcus will likely to tear him apart. And if he doesn't, Aro will probably try to get revenge on you. Right now, our main concern is to protect our family as best we can."

**oooO)))O(((Oooo**

**August**

When Edward saw the two photographs side-by-side on top of Carlisle's bookcase, he stopped to look at them while Bella browsed the shelves. The photograph of the Cullens and Bella from the previous year was now joined by first group picture of the Cullens and wolves together.

**August 13th**

It was hot, with the promise of rare clear skies for the meteor shower that evening. A perfect day to have fun in the outdoors and enjoy a night under the stars. Carlisle was expecting some laboratory test results, so he'd waited behind and promised to join them later.

The rest of the Cullens and the wolves had packed up coolers and swim gear, and headed out into the National Park to a remote lake Alice _hoped _would be free from hikers. They'd spread out towels along the narrow beach and soaked up the sun for a while.

At first, they'd lazed around, enjoying the warmth as Esme gave them the latest news from Volterra.

"Aro's still in meltdown, blaming everyone but himself. They want to move out of the city, but can't agree where they should go."

Sam had shifted to a more comfortable position. "Your family has sanctuary on the Reservation for as long as you need it, but we can't protect you forever."

"We know," Esme said. "But it's not totally dire. Now that we know they're looking for us, whenever they come up with something new we'll just buy up the stocks in the companies contracted to develop it.

"We're already making inroads into the telecoms industry worldwide. Life ain't boring," Jasper said and grinned up at the sky. "Esme hasn't told you the latest."

While Edward had snuggled Bella into his side, Esme looked ashamed.

"Caius and Marcus want the folks to become members of the Volturi. Make them seven instead of five. They figure we have 'skills' they can use."

Jake and Paul exchanged worried glances. Sam looked cautious.

"We refused," Esme said. "Our family can help if need be, if the Volturi choose to change their ways, but we won't rule. We value our freedom."

"And there's no way I'm calling Carlisle 'master'," Rosalie said, and Emmett laughed.

"Be fun to hear Jane say it, though."

"And Esme could be his bodyguard."

"Hell, yeah! I bet Caius already thinks she's hot - ow!" Emmett rubbed his ribs where Rosalie elbowed him.

"Oh, hush yourselves." Esme looked embarrassed. "I'm not proud of that."

Edward tilted his head to the side. "Carlisle's on his way."

Alice glowered at him. _I like the peacefulness of having the wolves around, but it can be so annoying, too._

For a while, the only sound was the lapping of the water on nearby rocks.

Then Edward laughed and everyone looked at him.

"What?" Rosalie said.

Edward tried to suppress his laughter, but his shoulders shook as he waved his hand.

"You're so annoying. I knew I should've put your head on backwards."

Alice thought, _It's good to see you laughing._

Carlisle appeared at the edge of the trees and loped to the beach. Even before he sat down, there was a chorus demanding to know what was happening.

"Edward, will you do the honors?" he said.

"No, you tell it. It's your news."

The Cullens looked expectant, the wolves, confused.

"It started when Edward told me about the shock the Volturi felt when they touched Seth's fur, and I wondered why we weren't similarly affected. It didn't seem reasonable that it was caused by anything Seth was doing, so that meant there must be a physiological difference between us."

"Oh!" Seth said. "I thought I zapped them with lightning power or something."

Carlisle smiled at him. "Sorry, Seth, but from what I hear you're quite formidable, so I don't think you should worry."

Jake said, "So what is it?"

"There's also the difference in eye color between us and those of our kind who feed on human blood, as well as the cooperative rather than combative nature of our family. I'd always wondered about it, but was in no hurry to find out. Now it could be important."

Carlisle and Edward smiled at each other.

"I commissioned Pacific NorthWest Laboratories to undertake some studies on samples I sent them. Their preliminary findings came through this morning. Because of the crystalline structure of our bodies, we sparkle in the sun. Of course, we need the venom so we can move our muscles, joints, and skin. Abstaining from human blood eventually causes the venom to change. It becomes more viscous." He looked around. "One of the properties of quartz is that it conducts electricity and creates it when the crystals are stretched or compressed. When the Volturi touched Seth, the static electricity in the fur reacted with their piezoelectric skin. Edward's venom is thicker and acted as a dampener, so he didn't get a shock."

There were nods all round. Seth looked disappointed.

"But why is Edward smiling like that?"

"Blood differs from one kind of animal to another. We drink from a wide variety of animals, so we absorb different chemicals. True quartz is changed when it's 'doped' by chemicals and they alter its resonant frequency."

Jasper sat up. "You think our bodies are different from the Volturi?"

"I do."

For a few moments, no one said anything, and then hesitant grins began to appear.

"We're on a different frequency?"

"Yes, and protected by our venom, too."

Jasper laughed. "The transmitters won't affect us, will they?"

Carlisle shook his head, beaming.

Emmett whooped. "Sheeeit! The Volturi will have to become vegetarian!"

Esme gasped. "Have you told them?"

"Yes." Carlisle seemed gleeful. "Delaying could cost people their lives, so I let them know as soon as I got the results. They were …dismayed."

"I saw Caius's reaction," Edward said.

Emmett stood. "Whatever. The Volturi can rule for all I care. I'm gonna play."

The joke within the pack was that Quil and Embry had imprinted on Emmett. Sure enough, they followed him to the water, followed by the rest of the pack. Alice dove and everyone watched as she soared and then somersaulted, twisted, and tucked before disappearing into the center of the lake, causing hardly a ripple. The pack cheered and whooped before pitching in and flinging one another into the air. Edward rubbed Bella's shoulder and he heard her heart rate speed up. "You okay?"

She turned to look at him. "We're home, we're together, and we're safe."

"Forever. However long that forever will be."

Emmett yelled, "Want to play diving, li'l Sis?"

Edward hadn't broken eye contact with her. "Bella's with me. I think it's high time I joined in this game."

Bella said, "You won't let me lose my balance?"

"Never."

"If my foot slips and I go the wrong way, you'll come get me?"

"I will always come for you."

"You won't let me hit a boulder?"

"Would I let a boulder hurt you?"

Bella's smile was wide. "No, you wouldn't." She combed her fingers through his hair. "You'll never let anything hurt me."

Edward kissed the inside of her wrist, wincing when he saw the arced scar he'd put there. "I won't let anything _hurt _you," he'd said, frowning, "but I will let you get really wet." He swept her up and leapt into the air. Bella squealed and wriggled, shouting when she hit the cold water.

It was mid-afternoon when Carlisle set up the camera. Everyone lined up along the lake. Rosalie stood on Emmett's shoulders, Alice on Jasper's, just like before. Bella looked up at Edward, uncertain.

"Banish those shadows," he said.

Bella gave a sharp nod and Esme hoisted her up. Edward stretched up to hold her legs while Bella linked hands with Rosalie and Alice. The wolves scrambled into a pyramid, joking as they wobbled.

When the shutter clicked, both Edward and Bella were rock steady, laughing.

Edward was still looking at the pictures when Bella came to stand next to him. He put his arm around her, drew her close, and kissed her neck. She hugged him and they stood together for long minutes before Bella looked up and said, "Edward, hand me that picture?"

As he reached up for the photograph, he said, "As you wish."

And he smiled.

**0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0**

**Yep, that's the end.**

**A/N**

Thank you so much to everyone who's read and reviewed, especially to those who've given me encouragement from the start (Roon0 and Duskwatcher in particular – you found me a few days after I first posted). Katmom and Katinki – Hugs.

I've had a lot of help from my lovely friends Bronze Flame, AlbyMangroves and AnnaFaze. One day we'll sit on that beach together and plot stories.

My sister, H4, is the best sister anyone could have and I'm not just saying that because she makes very nice buns, but also because she got all excited about this and pushed me to write it. My life has changed because of it.

And Irritable Grizzzly. How can someone do "Sectum Sempra" on the writing chapter after chapter, making me wince and squirm as she comments on my crap in shouty capitals and yet I STILL LOVE HER? Please be aware, if you've enjoyed this story at all, it's because **she**'s polished it and made me look good. She's spent untold hours on it for me but always refuses praise. She is incredibly generous with her time and help and I hope she always stays in my life.

The Cullens owe their safety to Mr Withany who told me about doping quartz. He told me just as I finished chapter 13, so I rewrote the ending. And I thought 11th hour saves never happened in real life. You couldn't write this stu- oh, wait...

Final words go to Looney Tunes –

"**That's all, Folks."**


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